South Korean Government to Develop AI Enable Semiconductors
South Korean Government has recently shared its plans to develop up to 50 types of AI-focused system semiconductors by 2030, reports a news website. The government will be on the hunt for thousands of local experts to lead the new wave of innovation.
The semiconductor industry can be divided into two large categories: memory and non-memory (system). South Korea is already home to two of the world’s largest memory chip makers — Samsung and SK hynix.
While that’s a lucrative industry, it’s one relying more on “the manufacturing process rather than core technologies,” observed Seewan Toong, an independent IT industry expert. “It’s about making the chip smaller, denser, more efficient, and putting more memory on one chip,” he added.
The South Korean Government wants to make its semiconductors smarter and vow to own 20% of the global AI chip market by 2030, according to the news website.
Samsung dabbled in next-gen chips as it became the mass-production partner for Baidu’s AI chips late last year. In July, the conglomerate announced hiring 1,000 new staff to work on chips and AI. SK hynix has picked its own Chinese ally by backing Horizon Robotics, an AI chip designer last valued at $3 billion.
“Samsung is an integrated device manufacturer so they have a foundry that needs customers like Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm. It is not easy to compete with customers. I think it takes a lot of time to be on the global stage,” said the Samsung engineer.
