Anwar today said Putrajaya’s partnership with Arm will allow it to conceive one of the most ambitious technological plans the country has ever seen – to pioneer ‘Made by Malaysia’ AI chips.
The economy ministry and Arm signed a memorandum of understanding today to establish a comprehensive partnership with the UK-based company, which includes the development of 10,000 talents for the pipeline and design of ‘Made by Malaysia’ AI chips based on the Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS)
“These chips will be designed, manufactured, tested and assembled here, and sold to the rest of the world,” said Anwar in his speech at the MoU signing ceremony here.
“This marks a fundamental shift in our approach to semiconductors and technology that will define our future.
“The day where Malaysia embarks on the second semiconductor wave is finally here.”
Apart from offering state-of-the-art technologies that cover all parts of semiconductor design, Arm is also establishing its first Asean office in Kuala Lumpur.
It aims to expand its market to Asean countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
In a Bloomberg report today, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said Malaysia, which packages roughly a tenth of the world’s semiconductors, will pay the SoftBank Group Corp-owned Arm US$250 million (RM1.11 billion) over a period of 10 years to acquire the firm’s chip design plans for local manufacturers.
Rafizi said Putrajaya hopes those plans can be used to aid local companies design their own chips, with the goal of getting the country to begin producing its own chips in the next five to seven years
In his speech, Anwar added that Arm’s foray into Malaysia is in line with the country’s National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), which was launched last year and is aimed at elevating Malaysia beyond a production hub to become a leader in high-value semiconductor activities.
Beyond assembly and testing, NSS prioritises integrated circuit (IC) design, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, advanced packaging, and front-end processes, making strides to expand Malaysia’s role in the global semiconductor supply chain.
In his speech, Anwar also said all relevant government agencies, industry players and education institutions must play a role in nurturing the next generation of talent to drive the country’s semiconductor industry.
“All government machinery must be mobilised to ensure our children possess the necessary talent and skill sets to benefit from tech giants such as Arm,” he said.
Malaysia’s semiconductor industry has been a key player in the global electronics supply chain since the 1970s, when the government sought to diversify the economy by moving away from an over-reliance on agriculture and mining.
Last July, the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) said it targets semiconductor exports reaching RM1.2 trillion by 2030. In 2023, the national semiconductor industry’s exports dropped by 3% to RM575.45 billion from 2022’s record year of RM593 billion.
Top export destinations include China, Singapore, and the US.