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Malaysia pushes regional chip design ambitions

Under its National Semiconductor Strategy, Malaysia aims to develop 10 domestic semiconductor firms with annual revenues ranging from 1 billion to 4.7 billion MYR.

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian government has allowed three local firms to access chip design technologies as part of efforts to advance its “Made in Malaysia” semiconductor initiative, marking a new step in the country’s strategy to upgrade its chip industry.

The selected companies, Great Asic Technology, SkyeChip and Oppstar Technology, will gain access to four technology packages, including Arm CSS (Compute Subsystems) and Arm Flexible Access (AFA), provided by British semiconductor company Arm Holdings.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Economic Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said Malaysia aims to move beyond its traditional role in chip assembly, testing and packaging toward chip design, intellectual property (IP) development and semiconductor technology mastery.

The programme forms part of a strategic partnership between the Malaysian government and Arm Holdings, whose extensive chip IP portfolio supports more than 350 billion chip-based devices worldwide.

Akmal said the initiative would provide access to Arm’s computing platforms and IP portfolio to accelerate the development of domestically designed semiconductor products. The programme has three key targets: training 10,000 IC design engineers, helping Malaysian firms access Arm’s technologies and IP portfolio, and fostering semiconductor products designed in Malaysia.

Malaysia is currently a key player in the global chip supply chain, mainly in assembly operations, but the government is now pushing to position the country as a regional chip design hub.

In 2025, Malaysia’s electrical and electronics (E&E) exports reached a record 711.61 billion MYR (181.19 billion USD), accounting for 44.3% of the country’s total exports. Exports of electronic integrated circuits alone surged 24.3% to 389.15 billion MYR, driven by strong demand for advanced chips, artificial intelligence (AI), automation and digitalisation.

Under its National Semiconductor Strategy, Malaysia aims to develop 10 domestic semiconductor firms with annual revenues ranging from 1 billion to 4.7 billion MYR./.

VNA
#Malaysia #chip design #semiconductors #Malaysia's chip industry #Arm Holdings Malaysia
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