Insight - Share surge shows profit and pain of chip crunch

So while giants like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co spend hundreds of billions trying to alleviate chip shortages, the lack of that single component - substrates - could hinder production for years.

NAN Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp is hardly a household name in the tech industry. But the obscure Taiwanese company makes an essential component for chipmaking that has become the latest bottleneck for automakers and electronics companies suffering from semiconductor shortages.

The component goes by the unwieldy name of Ajinomoto build-up film (ABF) substrate and it’s one of the least glamorous niches in the chips industry.