“We would like to promote a 'Guild' type joint commercialization project that supports development and sales to semiconductor engineers who have ideas and solutions.”
A domestic semiconductor design (fabless) venture is drawing attention after advocating to form a 'guild', which means a business partnership. In the semiconductor industry where company-to-company cooperation is common, guilds that focus on collaboration between individuals or small groups are unfamiliar.
At the core is G2 Touch. This company is a fabless company that supplies semiconductors and sensors that enable touch input through pen or hand on the screens of smartphones, tablets, and laptops. It has been researching touch technology for more than 10 years since 2009 and has now grown into an export company worth tens of billions of dollars.
Joo-chan Pyo, CEO of G2 Touch, said on the 16th, “The human resource issue that the semiconductor industry is experiencing was the starting point of our worries.”
There is a shortage of human resources due to industrial growth of the semiconductor industry. In addition, the recent recognition of semiconductors as a key industry in the national economy and national security has set off a manhunt to secure talented individuals, not only domestically but also abroad.
However, the increasing demand for engineers has paradoxically made it harder for small and medium-sized fabless to find people. Maintaining human resources is becoming that of luck.
CEO Pyo said, “Recently, due to China’s semiconductor industry promotion policy and large-scale absorption of design staff by large domestic companies, it is becoming very difficult to grow alone," adding, “We designed the guild to overcome these limitations and create a cooperative structure in which human resources, organizations, and startups can grow together and commercialize."
CEO Pyo argued that guilds are markedly different from cooperation between existing companies.
He said, “Supplying finished products at a fixed unit price is the common cooperative relationship, meanwhile the Semiconductor Guild aims to provide customized support for each individual and organization," adding, “For small-scale ASIC·SOC design staff and startups, the difference is their expertise on design, quality, and software, as well as the joint merchandising that provides all the support necessary for commercialization and FAB manufacturing, purchasing, and sales."
Small-scale personnel and developers have the technology and capability, but lack experience in commercialization, and it is difficult to find a factory to manufacture their products even after completing their designs, so companies that have semiconductor design to manufacturing experience are planning to grow together.
Is there enough in the human resource pool to participate in the guild in South Korea? In response to such a question, CEO Pyo replied, “There are many freelance engineers or small design groups," and, “These people have excellent capabilities and have abundant technical expertise, but they have not faced difficulties until it was time for their ideas to be commercialized and delivered to the customer as a product."
CEO Pyo explained that by participating in the guild, each group will jointly review each other’s' ideas, solutions, and technologies, and determine the areas and scopes that require collaboration and support. In addition, they plan to support each participating personnel and organization from development funds, fab orders, quality activities, software development, business and sales, and will carry out the necessary security pledges and sign memorandum of understanding each step in the process of commercialization. It also stressed that it will sign technical agreements in a reasonable manner, such as independent or joint patents.
CEO Pyo said, “Isn’t the spirit of partnership that protects mutual interests and rights the basic principle of the guild?" adding, “Based on the experiences G2 Touch has accumulated, we will become a sponsor through a flexible and liberal guild-type joint project.”
By Staff Reporter Kun-ho Kwon wingh1@etnews.com