Arm to launch chip design school in South Korea, training 1,400 specialists for AI push

Arm and South Korea Sign Deal to Build Chip Design Expertise

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with SoftBank's Arm to establish a dedicated chip design school in the country, marking a significant step in bolstering the nation's semiconductor and AI industries 1

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. The program aims to train 1,400 specialists in advanced chip design by 2030, addressing critical gaps in South Korea's system-semiconductor and fabless semiconductor segments 3

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. Presidential policy adviser Kim Yong-beom emphasized that the initiative would strengthen relatively weak areas of Asia's fourth-biggest economy, particularly as global demand for AI chips accelerates.

SoftBank's Vision for Artificial Intelligence and Energy Challenges

During a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Friday, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son reiterated his belief that Artificial Intelligence is poised to surpass human intelligence, with Artificial Superintelligence potentially becoming "10,000 times smarter than people" 1

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. Son stressed that rising AI demand will sharply increase chip requirements and identified energy infrastructure as a critical bottleneck limiting AI development in South Korea 2

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. He noted that while global companies are announcing plans to build data centers in the country, the scale remains insufficient for South Korea's ambitions 3

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Strategic Partnerships Strengthen South Korea's AI Ecosystem

The Arm initiative fits within South Korea's broader strategy to rank among the world's top three AI powers. President Lee has engaged with prominent tech leaders including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to advance this goal 1

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. Nvidia confirmed plans to supply more than 260,000 advanced AI chips to the South Korean government and major companies, including Samsung Electronics 2

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. In October, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI's data centers, while Amazon Web Services committed to invest at least $5 billion by 2031 to build new AI data centers near Seoul 2

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Impact on Fabless Companies and Chip Design Specialists

The chip design school is expected to provide crucial support for South Korea's fabless semiconductor companies, including Silicon Works, ADTechnology, Telechips, and Nextchip, as well as AI-focused firms such as Rebellions and FADU 3

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. Arm, which licenses its chip designs globally and earns revenue through royalties, already maintains a significant presence in South Korea through its subsidiary ARM Korea Ltd. 3

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. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy also plans to establish specialized graduate schools for semiconductors to complement the training initiative 3

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. This coordinated approach signals South Korea's determination to build domestic expertise in chip design while attracting international partnerships that can accelerate its position in the global AI race.