South Korea’s fabless chipmakers and semiconductor IP (intellectual property) companies are gearing up for CES 2024, which kicks off on Jan. 9. in Las Vegas. The country’s semiconductor sector is set to broaden its presence in the global market by unveiling cutting-edge AI chip technologies at the world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition.
DeepX, a startup that specializes in AI accelerator chips for neural processing units (NPUs), is one of the many fabless semiconductor companies showcasing their technologies at CES 2024. DeepX is the first AI chip company to win the CES Innovation Award in three categories: computer hardware, embedded technology, and robotics.
DeepX’s achievement is notable considering that the AI semiconductor field is highly competitive with more than 100 global contenders. The company’s groundbreaking AI semiconductor technologies include AI algorithm technology for edge AI applications and power-efficient NPUs. At CES, DeepX will demonstrate real-time applications of their technologies in smart cameras, mobility solutions, robots, and smart appliances.
Panmnesia, a fabless semiconductor company making strides in Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, will also showcase its new technology at CES.
The startup, which was founded by KAIST professor Jung Myung-soo and his team of master’s and doctoral students, has been drawing attention from major U.S. tech companies for its success in developing CXL 3.0. CXL 3.0, which Samsung and SK Hynix are also scrambling to develop, enables multiple hosts to share memory without coherency concerns. It is considered the most advanced form of chip memory architecture.
Panmnesia will demonstrate its “CXL-Enabled AI Accelerator” at CES this year. The technology is designed to boost the processing power of large-scale AI services such as generative AI.
Chips & Media, a semiconductor IP company founded in 2003, will also feature its technology at CES. The company provides semiconductor design assets for NPUs, which are essential for on-device AI, namely AI that does not require connection with cloud servers to fully run on a device. Chips & Media plans to introduce its new NPU design asset, CMNP, and discuss partnerships with companies that specialize in video codec IP.
Every year, buyers from all over the world attend CES, resulting in billions of dollars in contracts signed during the event. Last year, companies based in Daegu, Korea, recorded contract negotiations valued at $100 at CES. This trend underscores the potential for AI semiconductor companies in Korea to significantly broaden their reach in the global market.
The AI chip market is predicted to reach $45 billion this year, according to U.S.-based semiconductor company AMD. AMD chief executive Lisa Su expects this market will continue to grow rapidly to $400 billion by 2027.
