Park Sunghyun: "Rebellion Will Lead the Non-NVIDIA Ecosystem"

Park Sunghyun of Rebellion Marks Fifth Anniversary Media Day
Leading the Creation of a 'Next-Generation Ecosystem' in the AI Infrastructure Market
"The Optimal Choice for Customers Seeking Alternatives to NVIDIA"

Rebellion, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor startup, has unveiled its vision to become a leader in building a non-NVIDIA ecosystem. As a neural processing unit (NPU) partner recognized in the global AI infrastructure market, the company aims to spearhead the expansion of AI ecosystems in global markets such as the United States, Japan, and the Middle East.

On December 16, at Rebellion's office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, CEO Park Sunghyun held a media day marking the company's fifth anniversary and stated, "The next five years will see the formation of a new AI infrastructure system centered on 'non-NVIDIA' players, and Rebellion will take the lead in this movement." Since its founding in 2020, Rebellion has developed high-performance, high-efficiency domestically produced NPUs and last year merged with Sapeon Korea, SK Telecom's semiconductor subsidiary. This marked the first case of an AI semiconductor unicorn in Korea. This year, the company attracted overseas investment from entities such as Arm, bringing its corporate value to 2 trillion won.

SungHyun Park, CEO of Rebellion, held a 5th anniversary media day at the Rebellion office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 16th, announcing the global expansion strategy. Photo by Heejun Jang

CEO Park, who previously worked as an engineer at Intel, SpaceX, and Morgan Stanley, conceived the business before returning to Korea in 2020. He recognized the potential of Korea's rapidly growing semiconductor ecosystem, led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. "In the past, during the memory semiconductor era, Korea was underrated for lagging behind Japan and Europe, but ultimately led the memory market," he said. "With a determination to achieve results in system semiconductors, I came to Korea, and looking back since our founding, I am confident that this was the best decision."

He continued, "The past five years have been a period in which the global AI infrastructure market was evaluating which companies would be recognized as next-generation NPU partners, and Rebellion was selected in that process." He cited as key achievements: ▲ attracting strategic investment from global investors and major telecommunications and semiconductor companies ▲ successful mass production of the first-generation NPU, Atom, and commercialization of large-scale AI services ▲ growth into Korea's largest AI semiconductor startup through the merger with Sapeon Korea ▲ development of the large-chip RebelQuad, which delivers flagship-level performance comparable to NVIDIA's top graphics processing units (GPUs).

Rebellion analyzed that the 'alternative AI infrastructure ecosystem' is expanding in the global market, with players possessing key infrastructure technologies such as NPUs and other new hardware, open-source software, and interconnects. In addition to demonstrating an exceptional level of technical achievement through contributions to various projects, the company has expanded global partnerships by securing strategic investments, positioning itself as a key player in the next-generation market.

CEO Park stated, "AI infrastructure cannot be judged by short-term results. Only companies that build ecosystems based on large-scale, long-term investment and create value as part of that ecosystem will survive. Rebellion's technological capabilities and global partnerships are the core foundation of our growth, and the role at the national level will become increasingly important in the future."

SungHyun Park, CEO of Rebellion, held a 5th anniversary media day at the Rebellion office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 16th and announced the global expansion strategy. Photo by Heejun Jang

Marshall Choi, who joined as Chief Business Officer (CBO) in October this year, introduced Rebellion's global expansion strategy. CBO Choi said, "Governments and companies in key regions such as the United States, Japan, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are actively seeking to diversify their AI infrastructure. Rebellion's technological capabilities and product completeness will make us the most competitive option for global customers looking for alternatives to NVIDIA." He used the analogy, "It's not the first mouse but the second mouse that gets the cheese," and added, "Rebellion will deliver the most efficient products when the market becomes clear."

Following the domestic commercialization of Atom in data centers in 2023, Rebellion has begun mass production of AtomMax, which is now being applied to large-scale AI services such as SK Telecom's A.Dot call recording summary service. This year, the company introduced its next-generation product, RebelQuad, featuring chiplet design and fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E), addressing the energy efficiency and high-performance demands of large-scale AI data centers. In addition, Rebellion is accelerating technological advancement and business expansion in domestic and global AI ecosystems by collaborating with strategic investors, including global semiconductor companies and sovereign AI funds, and working on projects such as the Aramco data center.