Built a differentiated portfolio and accelerated revenue growth with its independently developed reusable and automated design platform
Secured key semiconductor IP and laid the foundation for long-term growth through next-generation technological innovations
SEOUL, South Korea, March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMIFIVE, a leading design solution provider and pioneer of platform-based custom silicon solutions, announced that it has achieved the remarkable feat of surpassing KRW 100 billion in revenue within just five years of its founding. The company's consolidated revenue for 2024 reached KRW 111.8 billion, marking a significant increase of approximately 57% (56.8%) compared to the previous year (KRW 71.3 billion). The company demonstrated consistent growth, with KRW 123.8 billion in orders, marking an increase of approximately 42% (42.3%) compared to the previous year (KRW 87 billion).
(PRNewsfoto/SEMIFIVE)
SEMIFIVE, a company specializing in SoC platforms and ASIC design solutions, was founded in 2019 by Brandon Cho, CEO and co-founder of SEMIFIVE. He earned a bachelor's degree from Seoul National University's Electrical Engineering department and a master's and doctoral degrees in Computer Architecture from MIT. The has company successfully attracted more than KRW 240 billion in investment from domestic venture capital (VC) firms, including Pavilion Capital, a subsidiary of Temasek which is Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Korea Investment Partners, and Korea Development Bank. At the time of its founding, Steve Park, former Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division, was appointed as co-president, and a team of experts with more than 20 years of experience from leading domestic and foreign companies and master's and doctoral-level engineers joined the company, drawing significant attention within the industry.
Differentiating Competitiveness with Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Design Platform, Revolutionizing the SoC Semiconductor Design Paradigm SEMIFIVE's independently developed design platform is an innovative solution that can reduce semiconductor development costs and timelines by more than half. The key distinguishing feature of SEMIFIVE's solution is the substantial enhancement in design efficiency through the reuse of design assets (IP) and automation solutions, setting it apart from traditional design houses.
As the demand for AI semiconductors is rapidly expanding, prominent AI companies such as Google and Meta are prioritizing the development of their own chips in collaboration with companies such as Broadcom and MediaTek. SEMIFIVE's design platform solutions, which are designed to maximize efficiency at low cost and low risk, have attracted considerable attention from both domestic and international customers.
Diversifying Portfolio with Leading K-Fabless Companies, Expanding Global Business Scope Major domestic and foreign semiconductor companies are developing customized semiconductors based on SEMIFIVE's SoC platforms. Some companies have already completed mass production, while others are planning to start mass production. New projects are underway, ensuring the sustained growth of mass production revenues. SEMIFIVE strategically consolidates its leading position in the customized AI semiconductor market by expanding collaboration with prominent domestic fabless companies that possess advanced technology capabilities and eager to develop cutting-edge AI semiconductors such as FuriosaAI, Rebellion, HyperAccel, Mobilint, and XCENA. Since last year, the company has secured customers not only in South Korea but also overseas, including in the U.S. and China, establishing the foundation for a full-scale entry into the global market and accelerating its global business expansion.
SEMIFIVE has developed three SoC platforms for AI Inference, Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), and High Performance Computing (HPC), and the company has completed tapeouts of more than 10 Big Die semiconductor projects.
Securing Key Semiconductor IP and Advancing Technology with Advanced Chiplet Platforms In 2022, SEMIFIVE acquired Analog Bits, a global IP company, to strengthen its IP capabilities. Analog Bits is a global leader in low-power mixed-signal IP, supplying core IP such as clocking, sensors, and SERDES to the world's leading foundry ecosystems, including TSMC, Samsung Foundry, and Intel. Since its establishment in 1995, the company has developed over 1,000 products based on more than 75 distinct process technologies and has collaborated with over 400 customers, including prominent global technology companies. SEMIFIVE is focused on enhancing its position in the global IP market by internalizing IP technologies linked to its own SoC platforms.
SEMIFIVE's expertise in the field of chiplet design, encompassing the full spectrum of chip design, including software development and system-level engineering, is a key differentiating factor. SEMIFIVE is accelerating the development of Premier, a CPU chiplet platform based on the ARM architecture, to proactively respond to the demands of the rapidly changing AI semiconductor market. Premier is a high-performance platform that utilizes various IPs such as Synopsys' UCle high-speed interface and OPENEDGES Technology's LPDDR6 memory interface, as well as Samsung Foundry's advanced 4nm process (SF4X).
In response to the growing demand from AI technology companies for chiplet-based dedicated semiconductor development, SEMIFIVE is enhancing its platform to provide proven solutions based on its secured IP assets and in-house expertise. This strategic initiative empowers customers to swiftly develop the semiconductors they require, while minimizing costs and risks.
"Achieving over KRW 100 billion in revenue in just five years is an exceptional and noteworthy accomplishment," said Brandon Cho, CEO and co-founder of SEMIFIVE. "In the rapidly growing AI semiconductor ecosystem, the custom silicon (ASIC) market will become a key pillar. Under the founding vision of becoming the 'New Global Hub of Custom Silicon', we will strengthen our category leadership as the leader in low-cost, high-efficiency design platforms and aggressively target the global market."
SEMIFIVE is the pioneer of platform based SoC design, working with customers to implement innovative ideas into custom silicon in the most efficient way. Our SoC platforms offer a powerful springboard for new chip designs and leverage configurable domain-specific architectures and pre-validated key IP pools. We offer comprehensive spec-to-system capabilities with end-to-end solutions so that custom SoCs can be realized faster, with reduced cost and risks for key applications such as data center or AI-enabled IoT. With a strong partnership with Samsung Foundry as a leading SAFETM DSP partner, as well as the larger ecosystem, SEMIFIVE provides a one-stop shop solution for any SoC design needs. For more information, please visit www.semifive.com.
