'SemiFive, a Mid-Sized IPO Prospect, Expected to Attract Strong Investor Interest'

AI Custom Semiconductor Developer Founded in 2019
Offering Price Range Set at 21,000 to 24,000 Won
Semiconductor Sector Leading the Domestic Stock Market

SemiFive, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) customized semiconductors (ASIC), is set to be listed on the KOSDAQ market. Samsung Securities, which is in charge of the initial public offering (IPO) process, has valued SemiFive at over 700 billion won.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on October 21, SemiFive plans to issue 5.4 million new shares to raise at least 113.4 billion won. The total number of shares to be listed is 33.67 million, and the desired offering price range is between 21,000 and 24,000 won per share. The expected market capitalization is estimated to be between 708 billion and 809.2 billion won.

Founded in 2019, SemiFive is a system-on-chip (SoC) platform company specializing in AI inference and high-performance computing (HPC) design. The company collaborates with leading domestic AI fabless companies such as Rebellions, FuriosaAI, and HyperAccel to develop semiconductors for data centers. CEO Cho Myunghyun is a professional engineer with a Ph.D. in computer engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), possessing expert knowledge from the fundamental philosophy to methodologies and practical implementation of semiconductor design automation.

To assess the appropriate corporate value of SemiFive, Samsung Securities selected three Taiwanese semiconductor companies-Faraday Technology, Alchip Technologies, and Global Unichip Corp.-as well as U.S. semiconductor companies Synopsys, Inc. and Rambus, Inc. as peer companies for comparison.

The average price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of the five companies, 45.4 times, was applied. Based on SemiFive's estimated net profit for 2026 and 2027, the present value as of the first half of 2025 was calculated. SemiFive is expected to turn profitable in 2026 and see a significant increase in earnings from 2027 onward. This is why the estimated net profit for 2026 and 2027 was used to calculate the per-share valuation. The underwriter explained that this period is considered appropriate for valuing companies like SemiFive, which have succeeded in commercializing technology but have yet to generate profits due to ongoing research and development (R&D) expenses and costs associated with business expansion.

SemiFive's revenue increased from 72 billion won in 2022 to 111.8 billion won in 2024. In the first half of this year, the company achieved cumulative sales of 48.1 billion won, while recording an operating loss of 12 billion won.

SemiFive's AI ASIC business model sees a significant increase in revenue once development projects are completed and move into mass production. Large-scale projects based on Samsung Foundry's 2, 4, 5, 8, and 14-nanometer processes will begin mass production sequentially starting this year. This is why the company expects its revenue to grow rapidly from next year.

The IPO industry welcomes SemiFive's listing, especially given that the semiconductor sector has recently been leading the rise in the domestic stock market. SemiFive is the only company in Korea capable of end-to-end big die design within the Samsung Foundry Design Solution Partner (DSP) ecosystem. A die refers to an individual unit of a semiconductor chip cut from a wafer. Larger chips can integrate more circuits and functions, making them suitable for high-performance designs such as AI semiconductors. In the global semiconductor ecosystem, Broadcom is leading the customized AI chip design market by signing major contracts with big tech companies and collaborating with TSMC. Within the Samsung Foundry DSP ecosystem, SemiFive plays a key role, working with both domestic and international clients.

CEO Cho stated, "We will strengthen our technological leadership through the listing," adding, "We aim to contribute to the innovation of the Korean semiconductor ecosystem and grow into a globally competitive company."