Govt to Award Arm Compute Subsystem Tokens to Eligible Malaysian Semiconductor Companies

Economy Minister Announces Collaboration with Arm Holdings

According to Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, the government will award Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS) tokens to Malaysian semiconductor companies that meet selection criteria at the next KL20 Conference in the coming months.

Partnership to Develop Complex Design Companies

Through the ecosystem partnership with Arm Holdings, Malaysia will work to develop complex design companies with Arm’s intellectual property expertise and design based on Arm’s “crown jewel” offering – the CSS.

Building a Complete Supply Chain

“For each of the CSS, we are looking to build a complete supply chain in advanced industries such as AI data servers, autonomous vehicles, IoT, robotics, and others. An ecosystem perspective also means that we will prioritise local players as the first resort for every part of the supply chain,” he said.

Collaboration Structure and Technology Transfer

Rafizi said the government has put in place a collaboration structure with advanced foreign firms, proposed technology transfer and localisation requirements, so that it could uplift local players in a realistic and holistic way.

Progress to Be Shown at KL20 Summit

“In the next few months, we will show progress on this Arm collaboration: By launching the 10-year vision blueprint, announcing the recipients of the CSS tokens, highlighting the collaboration with local players, and showcasing these technology prototypes at the next KL20 Summit,” he shared.

Shifting Focus to Integrated Circuit Design

Rafizi said Malaysia’s semiconductor industry must move from OSAT (backend) that captures 5-10% of the value, to integrated circuit design that captures over 60% of the supply chain value.

Economic Strategy Requires Local Technology

“Our economic strategy requires Malaysia to build local, indigenous technology for higher margin exports and supply chain resilience. We need to venture into new technology areas like AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and IoT,” he added.

Key Points

* Malaysia will pay Arm Holdings US$250 million (RM1.1 billion) over 10 years to acquire the firm’s chip design plans.
* The agreement includes access to seven of Arm’s high-end chip design blueprints and a commitment to train 10,000 engineers in Malaysia.
* The government hopes this deal will help local semiconductor companies scale up, with a target of creating 10 firms generating annual revenues of US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion each.
* The government aims to produce its own graphics processing unit chips within the next five to 10 years to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence and data centers.

FAQs

* Q: What is the purpose of the Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS) tokens?
A: The CSS tokens will be awarded to Malaysian semiconductor companies that meet selection criteria to access Arm Holdings’ high-end chip design framework.
* Q: What is the goal of the government’s collaboration with Arm Holdings?
A: The goal is to develop complex design companies with Arm’s intellectual property expertise and design based on Arm’s “crown jewel” offering – the CSS.
* Q: What is the target of the government’s economic strategy?
A: The target is to build local, indigenous technology for higher margin exports and supply chain resilience, and to venture into new technology areas like AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and IoT.