South Korea unveils roadmap for 10 homegrown on-device AI chips by 2030, with Samsung foundry support

SEOUL, Nov 12 — South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Wednesday it has confirmed a roadmap to develop and verify 10 domestically made on-device AI chips by 2030, at the second-half general meeting of the AI Semiconductor M.AX Alliance. The project carries a total budget of 800.2 billion won (about US$600 million) and was launched in June.

Ten chips split across driving, home appliances, robots and drones

The roadmap sets out one AI chip for autonomous driving, three for smart home appliances, and one each for collaborative robots, humanoid robots, agricultural work robots and unmanned drones, plus one design asset each for advanced processes and extreme environments. The programme brings together demand companies in automobiles, home appliances, robotics and defence, along with fabless firms and software companies, to jointly develop AI chips, embedded modules and operating software that can be installed in actual products.

Samsung foundry to prioritise 21 prototype runs in 2027

Samsung Electronics' foundry division will identify prototype production demand for 2027 in advance and reflect it with priority in its production schedules: 21 runs in total — three at 2 nanometres, four at 4 nanometres, three at 5 nanometres, three at 8 nanometres, three at 14 nanometres and five at 28 nanometres — combining multi-project wafers, which print multiple designs on one wafer, and single-run production. Semiconductor IP companies will also cut IP usage costs for Korean chip designers through flexible arrangements.

Smart-appliance chip running more than a year ahead of schedule

South Korean media reported that the smart-appliance AI chip is expected to be completed more than a year ahead of its original schedule. Demand-side participants include Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, Doosan Robotics and Korea Aerospace Industries. The programme, managed by the Korea Planning and Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, is part of South Korea's push to reduce reliance on imported AI chips and build up its on-device AI capabilities.

(Sources: South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Digital Today; AJU Press; MLex.)