In the picturesque Austrian town of Leoben, traditional architecture and centuries-old history coexist with some of Europe’s most advanced electronics manufacturing.
At the edge of the town, engineers at AT&S are developing advanced integrated-circuit substrates, specialized components that connect processors with memory, power systems and other critical hardware. As demand for AI computing infrastructure accelerates, these substrates have become increasingly important to the semiconductor supply chain.
The company has emerged as one of Europe’s notable beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom, with its shares gaining more than 450% this year. AT&S CEO Michael Mertin believes the company’s performance demonstrates that Europe can remain competitive in selected areas of the AI hardware ecosystem, even without matching the United States in chip design or Asia in manufacturing scale.
“We will not be the leading nation or the leading region,” Mertin said, arguing that Europe can nevertheless maintain leadership in specialized technologies.
From circuit boards to AI infrastructure
Founded in 1987, AT&S originally focused on conventional printed circuit boards before expanding into IC substrates.
The company entered serial production of advanced substrates at its Chongqing facility in China in 2016 and subsequently expanded its manufacturing footprint with a new Malaysian plant that began operations in 2024.
Its Leoben facility, known as Hinterberg, remains the company’s global headquarters and an important research and development center. Following an investment of more than €500 million in a new research and production facility opened last year, the site has become a major European hub for advanced IC-substrate manufacturing.
The growing demand for AI accelerators and high-performance computing systems has significantly increased interest in AT&S products.
Malcolm Penn, chairman of semiconductor consultancy Future Horizons, said the company is benefiting directly from the rapid expansion of AI hardware, although it is more accurately viewed as a supplier riding the broader technology wave rather than a company driving it.
IC substrates play a critical role in improving the performance of advanced computing systems by helping reduce power consumption and electrical interference while supporting faster data transmission.
Europe’s specialized role in the AI supply chain
Europe remains dependent on global partners for much of the semiconductor production chain, but it retains strong positions in several highly specialized areas.
Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML and British chip-design company Arm are among the region’s most prominent examples. AT&S operates at a different layer of the ecosystem, supplying components required to assemble increasingly sophisticated computing systems.
AT&S executives say demand has accelerated sharply as technology companies expand their AI infrastructure.
Barbara Decker-Schloegl, the company’s senior director of operations, said customer inquiries have increased across multiple parts of the business.
Mertin expects demand for AI-related computing infrastructure to remain strong, describing the current transformation as comparable to earlier technological shifts such as the adoption of engines and steam power.
AI boom creates local economic impact
AT&S is also an important employer in Leoben, a former mining and industrial center with a population of roughly 28,000.
Around 2,200 people from more than 70 countries work at the company’s local facilities, with Austrians accounting for approximately 60% of the workforce.
The company has also benefited from the region’s technical education ecosystem. The Technical University of Leoben, traditionally known for its expertise in mining, metallurgy and materials science, has supplied AT&S with engineers and other technical specialists.
Local officials say the company’s expansion has brought highly skilled employment and greater international recognition to the region.
However, rapid employment growth also creates new challenges for the town, including additional demand for housing, schools, childcare and other public services.
For residents, AT&S has become deeply connected to the local economy. Generations of some families have worked at the company, reinforcing its importance beyond the technology sector.
A small-town example of Europe’s AI opportunity
AT&S illustrates a broader trend in the global AI economy: the benefits of the technology boom are extending well beyond the companies designing AI models and manufacturing GPUs.
Specialized suppliers involved in power management, packaging, substrates, networking, cooling and other infrastructure are becoming increasingly important as computing systems grow more powerful and complex.
For Europe, that could offer a realistic path to participate in the AI expansion without competing directly with the United States and Asia across the entire semiconductor value chain.
The AI race may be dominated by a handful of global technology giants, but the infrastructure supporting that race is creating opportunities for highly specialized companies including one based in a small Austrian town.
