South Korean AI Chip Makers Rebellions and Sapeon Agree to Merge, Challenging Nvidia's Dominance

AI chipmakers Sapeon Korea, Rebellions sign formal merger deal

Rebellions CEO Park Sung-hyun, right, and SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang shake hands after signing a definitive agreement for the merger of Rebellions and Sapeon Korea, an artificial intelligence chipmaking affiliate of SK Telecom, at Rebellions' office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this photo provided by the mobile carrier, Aug. 18. Yonhap Sapeon Korea and Rebellions, two artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers in Korea, have signed a formal merger agreement. In June, the two companies said they sought a merger as they seek to improve competitiveness in the global market for AI chips. The merged entity will be named Rebellions, company officials said. Sapeon Korea is an AI chip processor affiliate of SK Telecom, the nation's leading mobile carrier, and Rebellions is an AI chip fabless startup, established in 2020. Sapeon Korea created the country's first AI chip for data centers in 2020, and last year, Rebellions developed an AI system-on-chip, named ATOM, which supports large language models. The two companies said their integrated entity is expected to have a corporate value of over 1 trillion won ($743.8 million) to have stronger competitiveness in the global AI chip market. "We were able to make this merger agreement as investors and major business partners of both companies showed great determination and support under the belief that the nation should put in an all-out effort to help its AI chip industry make a leap," said Rebellions CEO Park Sung-hyun, who is set to lead the merged entity. (Yonhap)

South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge

SEOUL, Aug 18 (Reuters) - South Korean artificial-intelligence chip makers Rebellions Inc and Sapeon Korea Inc have signed a definitive merger agreement, the privately held companies said on Sunday. They announced merger negotiations in June. The deal is the latest attempt by South Korean companies to challenge global AI chip leaders such as Nvidia. Sapeon's shareholders include South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom and the world's second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Rebellions received a $15 million investment from Wa'ed Ventures, a venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, in July. Rebellions said this brought its total funding to more than $225 million. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge

SEOUL, Aug 18 (Reuters) - South Korean artificial-intelligence chip makers Rebellions Inc and Sapeon Korea Inc have signed a definitive merger agreement, the privately held companies said on Sunday. They announced merger negotiations in June. The deal is the latest attempt by South Korean companies to challenge global AI chip leaders such as Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab. Sapeon's shareholders include South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom (017670.KS), opens new tab and the world's second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix (000660.KS), opens new tab. Rebellions received a $15 million investment from Wa'ed Ventures, a venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab, in July. Rebellions said this brought its total funding to more than $225 million. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

South Korean AI Chip Makers Rebellions and Sapeon Agree to Merge

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean artificial-intelligence chip makers Rebellions Inc and Sapeon Korea Inc have signed a definitive merger agreement, the privately held companies said on Sunday. They announced merger negotiations in June. The deal is the latest attempt by South Korean companies to challenge global AI chip leaders such as Nvidia. Sapeon's shareholders include South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom and the world's second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Rebellions received a $15 million investment from Wa'ed Ventures, a venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, in July. Rebellions said this brought its total funding to more than $225 million. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Rebellions, Sapeon Korea merge to take on Nvidia

ANN/THE KOREA HERALD - Artificial intelligence (AI) startups Rebellions and Sapeon Korea have officially merged, creating South Korea's first AI unicorn, according to SK Telecom, Sapeon Korea's parent company. Rebellions, a fabless chip designer valued at KRW900 billion (usd664 million), and Sapeon Korea, an AI chip supplier for data centres valued at KRW550 billion, are joining forces to compete in the global AI chip market, which is currently dominated by Nvidia. The global AI chip market was valued at USD34.3 billion in 2023, with Nvidia holding a 94 per cent market share. The new merged entity is expected to launch by the end of the year. The two companies agreed to a corporate value ratio of one to 2.4 for Sapeon Korea and Rebellions. The newly merged company is expected to exceed KRW1 trillion in corporate value and become the country's first "unicorn" company in the AI sector. Sapeon Korea will remain the surviving company, but the merged company's name will be Rebellions. Rebellions co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Park Sung-hyun, who led the rapid growth of the startup, will be in charge of management. "This merger was possible because of the strong determination and support of the investors and major business partners of both companies," Park said. "We are starting the real game, and we will demonstrate our strength as Korea's top firm in the AI chip war, which is more intense than ever." To ensure the stable operation of the merged company by Rebellions management, shareholders of Sapeon Korea, consisting of SK Telecom, SK hynix and SK Square, will sell three per cent of their shares - based on the post-merger stakes - for Rebellion executives to maintain their position as largest shareholders. Promising preemptive investment and support, SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang said, "With the merger, we will be able to boost the competitive edge in the global AI chip market, which is one of the three main parts of SKT's AI value chain."

South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge

Rebellions received a $15 million investment from Wa'ed Ventures, a venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, in July. Rebellions said this brought its total funding to more than $225 million.South Korean artificial-intelligence chip makers Rebellions Inc and Sapeon Korea Inc have signed a definitive merger agreement, the privately held companies said on Sunday. They announced merger negotiations in June. The deal is the latest attempt by South Korean companies to challenge global AI chip leaders such as Nvidia. Sapeon's shareholders include South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom and the world's second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Rebellions received a $15 million investment from Wa'ed Ventures, a venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, in July. Rebellions said this brought its total funding to more than $225 million.