Fabless Companies Open Offices One After Another in Gwangju

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Kang Kijeong, mayor of Gwangju, is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the opening ceremony of Aisic Land Co., Ltd.'s Gwangju office held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Gwangju Simulated Content Cube (GCC). Provided by Gwangju City

Fabless (semiconductor design) companies attracted to Gwangju are successively opening their Gwangju offices. This move goes beyond simple memorandums of understanding (MOUs), signaling a commitment to settle in Gwangju by hiring research and development (R&D) personnel and playing a key role in building the local semiconductor ecosystem, marking both a pledge and a new beginning for mutual growth.

The city of Gwangju announced that ASICLand Co., Ltd., the first fabless company attracted to Gwangju, has opened its Gwangju office at the Gwangju Realistic Content Cube (GCC) and held an opening ceremony on the 15th.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor Kang Gijung, ASICLand CEO Lee Jongmin, Gwangju Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency President Lee Kyungjoo, Artificial Intelligence Industry Convergence Project Group Director Oh Sangjin, Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute Honam Research Center Director Kang Hyunseo, CEOs of fabless companies AimFuture Co., Ltd., Mobillint Co., Ltd., Supergate Co., Ltd., as well as representatives from local universities, totaling about 40 participants.

ASICLand is the only domestic company among the eight global partners of TSMC, the world's largest foundry company based in Taiwan, and possesses unrivaled semiconductor design capabilities.

In particular, as a fabless design house company that manages the entire semiconductor process?including design, mass production, packaging, and inspection?ASICLand is expected to play a central role in building the semiconductor ecosystem in Gwangju by collaborating with other fabless companies attracted to the region.

ASICLand plans to establish a semiconductor research and development (R&D) center at the GCC in Nam-gu, Gwangju, focusing on technology development in the semiconductor design post-processing field. The company is also expected to cooperate with local universities to nurture customized talent needed by local businesses and take the lead in creating high-quality jobs such as R&D personnel.

Lee Jongmin, CEO of ASICLand, said, "We chose Gwangju because of its AI talent and infrastructure. Through rapid recruitment and other efforts, we will grow the Gwangju office, which marks a new beginning for ASICLand, as an R&D-focused hub," adding, "Many AI companies are choosing Gwangju, and the ASICLand Gwangju office will continue to work closely with the city to become a technology hub that grows together with the region."

Mayor Kang Gijung of Gwangju stated, "I congratulate the opening of ASICLand's Gwangju office, which is growing through Gwangju's AI demonstration projects. The successive arrival of fabless companies in Gwangju is a great force in opening the growth plate of AI in Korea," adding, "To the question, 'Can Gwangju do AI?' we are answering with the results of ecosystem building that connects infrastructure, talent, and companies. By joining hands with the companies that have trusted Gwangju, we will clearly prove that Gwangju can do it and that Gwangju is the future of AI in Korea."

Following ASICLand, AimFuture Co., Ltd., the second fabless company attracted to Gwangju, is also scheduled to open its Gwangju office at the GCC next month. Since last year, the city has been attracting high-performance semiconductor design (fabless) companies in succession, solidifying its status as the "AI representative city of Gwangju" by bringing in six fabless companies: starting with ASICLand, followed by AimFuture, Moai Co., Ltd., Mobillint Co., Ltd., Supergate Co., Ltd., and most recently FuriosaAI, which declined a takeover offer from Meta.

The city of Gwangju is actively promoting joint research and cooperation projects through the "Deep Tech Scale-up Valley Fostering Project" to help fabless companies settle stably in the region. This project, selected as a national project by the Ministry of Science and ICT last year, aims to promote technology development and product innovation by integrating AI semiconductors from fabless companies into products of local demand companies.