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The Value of ASICLAND as The Exclusive Partner of TSMC in Korea
- 2023-02-22
- 0
ASICLAND is a member of TSMC Value Chain Alliance(VCA) in Open Innovation Platform(OIP), which is built by the global No.1 Foundry, TSMC. In other words, ASICLAND is a design house that creates manufacturing layouts based on orders from fabless companies utilizing TSMC’s foundry process.
Its position is irreplaceable given that it is the exclusive Korean partner of global giant foundry TSMC. Joining TSMC’s value chain is said to be challenging, but once a company becomes a part of it, stability and security are guaranteed.
◇ How ASICLAND Obtained the VCA Qualification
ASICLAND, founded in 2016, started as a subcontractor for Global Unichip Corp(GUC) from Taiwan, which is known as the global leading design house and a VCA partner. At that moment, the only Korean TSMC VCA was ADTechnology. Jong-min Lee, the CEO of ASICLAND, wanted to become a partner of TSMC and proposed that GUC consider hiring them as a subcontractor to have a chance of learning the TSMC’s process. GUC had a heavy workload, so they were subcontracting some of it. ASICLAND could be able to gain expertise and build its customer base by working with TSMC as a GUC subcontractor.
It took two and a half years until becoming the official partner of TSMC in 2019. Lee reflected “we were so lucky.” ADTechnolgy was planning to become Samsung’s Design Solution Partner(DSP), and therefore TSMC was looking for a new partner in Korea. ASICLAND, which had worked as a subcontractor for GUC, caught TSMC’s attention at the right moment.
GUC was inclined to focus on the US and China markets, or on big corporates in Korea such as Samsung or SK Hynix. GUC was open to the idea of ASICLAND becoming a VCA of TSM, despite the fact that they would be competitors.
ASICLAND persuaded GUC by promising that it would do business mainly for mid- and small-sized fabless markets while playing fair in the domestic market. Of course, there are endless chances to succeed if ASICLAND has price competitiveness and capability over GUC. It is ultimately up to the customer’s choice regardless of whether they are a mid-sized or large fabless company.
ASICLAND has two subsidiaries of design houses, WhizMind and Top Asic to be merged after going public. The company also has an office in Vietnam and is planning to establish a branch in the AI-specialized city where the Korean government is currently leading. The company has over 70 domestic fabless companies as the customer.
ASICLAND ended up with a revenue of approximately KRW 65 billion($50M) last year, and the current number of employees is about 150. It has received an investment of KRW 15 billion from Korea Development Bank and UTC Investment Co., LTD. In addition, ASICLAND is an Arm Approved Design Partner(AADP), which is a title that can only be gained by being recognized for its design abilities by ARM, A UK-based company specializing in semiconductor Intellectual Property(IP). Obtaining this title implies that it has strong global competence.
◇ CEO Lee’s View on K-system Semiconductor Trends and Future
According to Lee, the CEO, the Korean system semiconductor should actively seek opportunities for its growth within its pre-established sectors. And ASICLAND is also paying attention to these fields.
Korea is the best memory semiconductor industry. D-Ram and NAND flash require system semiconductors to function, but due to the lack of strength in the system semiconductor industry, Korea has to rely on importing them from countries like Taiwan or US. For example, even if NAND flash is made in Korea, the NAND controller of it has been imported from Taiwan. The NAND controller is a system semiconductor that controls NAND to read and write data after receiving instructions from the Central Processing Unit(CPU).
“The fabless players, who develop system semiconductors used in memory, appliances, and display, where the Korean industry excels globally, will have global competitiveness in the future” emphasized Lee. The AIO and Fadu are examples of it by successfully localizing NAND controllers.
A fabless company has been established that has localized the Register Clock Driver(RCD), a vital component of server DRAM, which had been entirely imported in the past. The CEO, Lee plans to support these fabless companies to produce its high-quality chips without any shortage, using TSMC foundry.
