Expanding from 200pyeong → 1000pyeong
Plan to secure occupancy space for up to 25 companies
Increasing the number of supporting companies and fund linkages
Reinforcing system semiconductor design wor
The Innovation Center for System IC, which supports semiconductor startups and ventures, will increase its scale by five times. It will contribute to strengthen industrial competitiveness by expanding the scale of support for system semiconductor startups.
The Innovation Center for System IC aims to open in February 2023 and will expand the center to a size of 1,000pyeong in the Global Biz Center in Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley. It is five times larger than the current center of 200pyeong. It will secure space to accommodate up to 25 semiconductor companies by increasing the number of the companies from 15 of them. It is expected to establish itself as a precious home for various semiconductor startups and venture companies.
The center, which opened in last June, is playing the role of a 'cradle' for Korea to become a system semiconductor powerhouse. It is providing office space for semiconductor fabless and intellectual property (IP) companies to grow, and aiding with semiconductor design implementation verification, design automation (EDA) tool support, measurement, and prototyping. In addition to supporting the entire system semiconductor development cycle, the center will also support investment, system semiconductor win-win fund, and marketing activities in connection with the semiconductor growth fund.
Last year, 10 semiconductor companies, including OpenEdges, UX Factory, and Mobilint, moved into the center or received support. This year, six additional support companies were selected for support, which include Rebellion, Solid View, and Qualitas Semiconductor. Rebellions was the first among domestic fabless to develop artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors using Samsung Electronics' 5nm process. Once the center expands next year, such fabless success cases will increase.
The center is also focusing on nurturing professional workfoce. The support of semiconductor design support companies, such as AD Technology, Gaon Chips, and CoAsia, as well as Sungkyunkwan University, will provide job-related training. In addition, it is striving to strengthen the capabilities of incumbents at system semiconductor design companies by operating a training course on the use of EDA tools.
The center plans to grow various 'semiconductor stars' by expanding support routes for semiconductor ventures and startups. The center will discover and supports semiconductor-related companies in various fields such as IP and devices as well as fabless. It will make it easy for fabless to utilize domestic and foreign core IPs, and strengthen the multi-project wafer (MPW) business in cooperation with domestic foundries. MPW is a process for research and is essential for the production of new products by startups such as semiconductor ventures and startups.
Hwee-won Kim, head of The Innovation Center for System IC, said, “The goal is to build an ecosystem where the system semiconductor industry can grow. Various early-stage semiconductor companies will be able to benefit from the expansion of the center.”
By Staff Reporter Dong-jun Kwon(djkwon@etnews.com)