Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Support Promising Fabless Companies... Applications Open from the 11th

A total of 30 companies to be selected and supported
Applications accepted from the 11th to the 27th

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has rolled up its sleeves to support promising fabless startups. A total of 30 companies will be selected based on their business experience and technological capabilities, and will be provided with technology commercialization funds of up to 250 million KRW.

On the 10th, the Ministry announced the 'Fabless Startup Integrated Support Project' containing these details. This project is part of the first stage 'Micro Super-gap' program newly established this year within the three-stage 'Super-gap Startup 1000+ Project' announced last month. In April last year, the Ministry held the 'Fabless-Foundry Win-win Council' to communicate with domestic fabless companies such as the Korea Fabless Industry Association. This new program was established this year to fulfill requests for tailored support for fabless startups at each stage.

Fabless refers to design-specialized companies that implement semiconductor chips without production facilities (fabs) in the system semiconductor value chain, acting as the brain of system semiconductors. Fabless startups have strengths in developing innovative semiconductor design technologies that large companies find difficult to attempt. Since they play a key role in securing technologies that will lead next-generation markets such as artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and low-power semiconductors, systematic government support is important.

The Ministry plans to select a total of 30 promising fabless startups classified into three stages?'development stage,' 'growth stage,' and 'scale-up stage'?based on business experience and technological capabilities, and provide stage-specific support.

First, for six fabless startups at the early development stage, technology commercialization funds of 100 million KRW will be provided, along with support for design assets (IP, EDA Tools) needed by development-stage fabless startups, offering opportunities for investor relations (IR) activities to attract investment. Next, for 20 fabless startups at the growth stage, technology commercialization funds of 200 million KRW will be provided, along with multi-project wafer (MPW) processes for prototype production and opportunities to collaborate with domestic large corporations and other demand companies. Finally, for four fabless startups at the scale-up stage possessing advanced technologies, technology commercialization funds of 250 million KRW will be provided, and product verification will be supported jointly with large corporations possessing verification infrastructure for semiconductor scaling and commercialization.

Applications for this project will be accepted from the 11th to the 27th. Among the startups selected and supported, those that achieve outstanding results will be linked to the 'Super-gap Startup' project for additional support to enter the global market. The Super-gap Startup project is a concentrated nurturing project selecting more than 1,000 innovative deep-tech startups in 10 new industries such as system semiconductors and AI over five years until 2027, leading the future of the national economy. Selected companies will receive up to 600 million KRW in technology commercialization funds over three years and 1 billion KRW in follow-up scale-up funds over two years.

Meanwhile, the Ministry plans to hold the 'Fabless-Foundry Win-win Council' in the first quarter with participation from the fabless industry and experts to discuss plans for the '2025 Fabless Challenge' and policies to support fabless startups, aiming to secure competitiveness in the domestic fabless industry and the overall system semiconductor sector.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "To revitalize the system semiconductor industry, which is a future national growth engine, nurturing fabless startups, a core sector, is essential. We will actively promote related policies so that promising fabless startups can grow step-by-step through this project, strengthen their competitiveness, and play a key role in the global market."