South korea unveils roadmap for edge AI semiconductors, targeting 10 chip validations by 2030

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently published a comprehensive roadmap for its domestic edge AI semiconductor development initiative. This project is backed by a substantial budget of 802 billion Korean Won (approximately 3.993 billion RMB at the current exchange rate) and aims to complete the development and validation of ten distinct AI chips by the year 2030. These ten planned chips are slated to cover various specialized applications, including one each for smart home appliances, autonomous driving, collaborative robots, humanoid robots, agricultural robotics, and drones. The roadmap also incorporates projects focused on advanced process nodes and extreme operating environments. To facilitate this development, the plan outlines specific support mechanisms. Foundry companies such as Samsung Electronics will prioritize allocating resources, including Multi-Purpose Wafer (MPW) testing slots, to national projects. Furthermore, IP enterprises are set to implement flexible methods to reduce the IP usage costs for Korean chip designers, with chip customers expected to actively participate throughout the research and development lifecycle.