Korean Fabless Companies Make Strides at 'ISSCC'... Dreaming of the Next MediaTek

Korean fabless startups are presenting papers at a globally renowned semiconductor conference. Recognized for their technical prowess amid stiff competition from major corporations, their acknowledgment within the industry is considered highly exceptional.

According to industry sources on the 11th, Rebellions and SolidVue, two Korean fabless startups, are scheduled to present papers at ISSCC 2024.

Established in 1954, ISSCC holds the highest authority in the field of semiconductor circuit design. The 71st event, ISSCC 2024, will be held in February next year in San Francisco, USA.

"Demonstrating Technological Prowess at ISSCC... A Great Opportunity for Korean Fabless Companies like MediaTek"

ISSCC, often dubbed the 'Olympics of semiconductor design,' sees major semiconductor companies attending annually to showcase their innovative technologies. Companies like Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, TSMC, Intel, NVIDIA, AMD, MediaTek, and Google are among the notable participants.

Notably, Korean fabless startups Rebellions and SolidVue have had their papers accepted at this event. Rebellions will present on the low-latency design of the company's first-generation server NPU (Neural Processing Unit), while SolidVue plans to present its CMOS LiDAR sensor chip.

Choi Jae-hyuk, a Seoul National University professor who serves as the Vice Chair of ISSCC Asia, stated, "It's extremely rare for fabless startups of relatively small scale to have their papers accepted at ISSCC. This could garner attention from companies worldwide."

Professor Choi cited MediaTek as a company that gained prominence through ISSCC. MediaTek, founded in 1997, started with chips for DVDs and later developed various chips for TVs and mobile devices.

SolidVue's LiDAR Sensor Chip and Demonstration Image

Rebellions, SolidVue, and other Korean indigenous companies consider their inclusion in this ISSCC's papers as highly significant.

The technical domain where Rebellions' first-generation NPU chip-related paper is featured is 'processors,' an area where only four companies, including Rebellions, Intel, AMD, and MediaTek, have had papers accepted at this event.

Park Sung-hyun, CEO of Rebellions, stated, "We plan to present on the latency optimization design of the NPU chip scheduled for mass production in the first quarter of next year. It's meaningful not just academically but also as recognized technology for practical use."

SolidVue had two papers related to LiDAR sensors accepted. Among these, the technology for a 50-meter mid-range solid-state LiDAR sensor is already applied in the company's next-generation product scheduled for mass production in 2025.

Jaehyuk Choi, CEO of SolidVue, mentioned, "Since the early days of our startup, we established a dedicated team to develop next-generation LiDAR chips, and through collaboration with Sungkyunkwan University and UNIST, we've achieved good results this time."

View original article : 韓 토종 팹리스, 'ISSCC'서 약진…제2 미디어텍 꿈꾼다 - ZDNet korea