Seoul: British chip design company Arm emphasized that South Korea's comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem is of strategic importance to its global operations, which aim to deliver specialized chipsets across key sectors such as infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Eddie Ramirez, vice president for the infrastructure business at Arm, stated during a press conference in Seoul that South Korea is one of the few markets that possess a complete supply chain. This includes the foundry sector, ASIC design services, and key third-party intellectual properties, all developed within the country, alongside complex packaging solutions.
ASIC, or application-specific integrated circuit, is a custom chip designed for specific applications like AI acceleration, automotive systems, or 5G technology. Ramirez noted that South Korea is closely aligned with Arm Total Design, the company's flagship service offering preferential access to compute solutions, including Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS), design services, foundry support, commercial software, and firmware assistance.
Among Arm's global partners for Arm Total Design are major South Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics Co. in the foundry service sector, CoAsia Corp. in design services and packaging, and Rebellions Inc. in companion silicon and OEMs. Ramirez also pointed out that South Korea's startup-friendly environment significantly contributes to innovation.
"It is also important because the Korean government has provided significant investment and considers AI a strategic initiative," he stated. "So we are seeing a wealth of startup companies developing here in Korea as a result, and so it really is a very unique place of innovation."
Arm has maintained a longstanding partnership with Samsung Electronics. Last year, Samsung announced plans to expand its collaboration with Arm to integrate Arm's system-on-chips (SoCs) into its latest semiconductor process technology.