Malaysia Enters Global AI Race with First Domestic Edge AI Processor

Malaysia's SkyeChip unveils the country's first edge AI processor | TechCrunch

Malaysia has developed its first domestic edge AI processor. Malaysian chip design company SkyeChip announced its MARS1000 processor at an industry event on Monday, Bloomberg reported. While an edge processor isn't as powerful as an advanced Nvidia chip, it still represents a technological milestone for Malaysia, which is looking to play a bigger role in the global AI race. Malaysia already has a foothold in the chip manufacturing sector and has recently increased its efforts and investment around AI. The country announced the creation of the Malaysian National AI Office in late 2024, an agency that plans to focus on seven areas, including the acceleration of AI adoption, AI adoption regulatory frameworks, and AI ethics. It was rumored in early July that the Trump administration was considering restricting the sale of U.S. AI chips to Malaysia, and Thailand, in an attempt to prevent smuggling of these chips to China. While those rumors have yet to come to fruition, Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry announced that it was going to require trade permits for U.S. AI chips on July 14. This rule means individuals and companies are required to notify the Malaysian government at least 30 days in advance if they plan to export or transship U.S.- made AI chips.

Malaysia unveils first edge AI processor MARS1000 - The Economic Times

SkyeChip is a Malaysian chip design firm specialising in AI and high-performance computing. An edge AI processor is a specialised chip designed to run AI-based tasks directly on devices rather than relying on distant cloud servers or data centres.Malaysia has launched its first edge AI processor, MARS1000, developed by local designer SkyeChip and introduced at an industry event attended by senior government officials. Founded in 2019, SkyeChip is a Malaysian chip design firm specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing. While it remains unclear where SkyeChip will manufacture its designs, the debut marks a milestone in Malaysia's push to climb the global chip value chain, Bloomberg reported on Monday. An edge AI processor is a specialised chip designed to run AI-based tasks directly on devices rather than relying on distant cloud servers or data centres. Analysts had noted that Malaysia's strength in assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP), coupled with a skilled workforce, strong supply chains, and government backing, makes it an attractive hub for such innovations. The report further added that Malaysia is looking to play a major role in the global chip supply chain. Investment pool The Malaysian government's National Semiconductor Strategy was announced in May 2024, offering a significant incentive structure to attract investments. Malaysia, a major player in the semiconductor industry that accounts for 13% of global testing and packaging, is targetting over $100 billion in investment for the sector, Reuters reported. ET reported that Tata Electronics was in talks with several global semiconductor companies, including X-Fab, DNeX, and Globetronics, to acquire a fabrication or outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) plant in Malaysia. Coming to data centres, the Southeast Asian country had drawn investments from Oracle, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft in the past.