Chip-testing company KYEC has agreed a deal under which NVIDIA will pay in advance for testing capacity that KYEC will build in the United States. KYEC disclosed the agreement in a filing on Taiwan’s Market Observation Post System on 13 October 2026, as reported by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA).
KYEC did not disclose how much NVIDIA is paying.
How the deal works
According to the filing, KYEC and its wholly owned US subsidiary, AeternZ Semiconductor Testing Corporation, signed a customer prepayment agreement with NVIDIA International, Inc. NVIDIA pays upfront. KYEC and AeternZ then build capacity in the US, keep it reserved for NVIDIA and provide testing services. The prepayment is offset against NVIDIA’s future service fees, and the agreement runs until the prepayment has been fully used up.
KYEC said the deal deepens its long-term relationship with NVIDIA, expands its US testing capacity and supports its medium- and long-term growth. It said the agreement would be positive for its future finances and business.
The US$1.4 billion figure is a ceiling
In July, KYEC’s board authorised its chairman to handle a US investment and plant within a limit of US$1.4 billion (about NT$44.9 billion), CNA reports. That is a limit on spending, not the size of the NVIDIA prepayment. KYEC has also raised its 2026 capital spending budget to NT$50 billion, citing strong demand for testing AI chips.
On the same day as the NVIDIA filing, KYEC cancelled a US$300 million guarantee it had approved in September for AeternZ. It said the guarantee was no longer needed because the contract structure had changed.
A reported Texas site
Taiwan’s People News, citing Fort Worth city documents, reports that AeternZ plans a chip-testing plant in Fort Worth, Texas, with an estimated cost of US$1.3 billion listed in a tax-relief application. KYEC has not confirmed the site or that figure. People News says Fort Worth’s city council is due to review the plan on 27 October.
What this means
- NVIDIA is paying to secure testing capacity. The deal reserves US testing capacity for NVIDIA’s chips.
- Customer money funds the build. KYEC gets cash upfront before building in the US.
- Key details are still missing. The prepayment amount and the plant’s location have not been confirmed by KYEC.
Sources
- CNA, “京元電與輝達簽預付款協議 母子公司供應測試產能” (KYEC signs prepayment agreement with NVIDIA), 13 October 2026 (in Chinese; TSN’s translation). https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202610130188.aspx
- EffectStory, “KYEC and NVIDIA Sign Prepayment Agreement to Build US Test Capacity” (quotes KYEC’s filings and People News). https://effectstory.com/en/articles/kyec-nvidia-prepayment-agreement-us-test-capacity
