Complex chip development can cost up to US$300 million

KUALA LUMPUR: Developing semiconductor chips, even simple ones, can set local companies back by approximately US$50 million, with complex chips costing up to US$300 million, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. The high expenses present a significant hurdle for firms venturing into the industry's upstream segment, as the government's partnership with global technology company ARM only covers part of the costs, not the entire expense.

Johari explained that the collaboration with ARM, established in 2025, offers two types of tokens, Compute Subsystem (CSS) and ARM Flexible Access (AFA), to assist local companies in crafting integrated circuit chip designs. This partnership may trim development time by up to two years, expediting companies' quests to establish their intellectual property. Of the seven CSS tokens, four have been released thus far.

Despite the tokens' estimated worth ranging between RM30 million and RM40 million, companies still require supplementary funding to complete the chip development process, which typically spans two to two-and-a-half years, contingent on the technology employed.