ARM, a prolific designer of CPU cores and owned by Japan's SoftBank, is embarking on a major skill-building initiative in South Korea, one that would bolster the chip design expertise of the Asian powerhouse via a dedicated school that would train 1,400 individuals by 2030.
to strengthen the country's semiconductor and AI industries.
As per the terms of the MOU, ARM will establish a dedicated chip design school in South Korea to train 1,400 "world-class" semiconductor design professionals by 2030.
The move is expected to act as a major impetus for South Korea's so-called , including Silicon Works, ADTechnology, Telechips, Nextchip, as well as AI-focused firms such as Rebellions and FADU.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy also plans to establish specialized graduate schools for semiconductors.
In a separate meeting between the South Korean President, Lee Jae-myung, and Softbank's Chairman, Masayoshi Son, the latter identified four key elements for achieving Artificial Superintelligence (ASI):
- Energy
- Semiconductors
- Data
- Education
Son went on to note:
"Korea's critical weakness is its lack of sufficient energy."
He then added:
"Global companies are announcing many plans to build data centers in Korea, but in my view, the scale is very small."
Do note that ARM already has a significant footprint in South Korea via its subsidiary, ARM Korea Ltd., which licenses intellectual property - primarily related to CPU cores - to various Korean companies.
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