THE Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative was officially launched today, marking a significant milestone in enhancing the state’s integrated circuit (IC) design capabilities.
Spearheaded by the state government through InvestPenang, the initiative aims to create a robust ecosystem for IC design and technology enterprises within a 5km+ radius of the Bayan Lepas industrial park.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow officiated the launch at Eastin Hotel Penang in Bayan Lepas today.
The event also marked the official opening of GBS TechSpace as the Silicon Research & Incubation Space, one of the three key components of the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative.
The other two key components are Penang IC Design and Digital Park @Bayan Lepas and the Penang Chip Design Academy @PSDC.
Chow described the initiative as a strategic move to strengthen Penang’s leadership in the IC design industry.
“With its integrated ecosystem within the vibrant 5km+ area, the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative offers a unique value proposition, benchmarking itself against IC design hubs in Silicon Valley in San Jose, United States.
“Through this initiative, Penang is positioning itself at the intersection of IC design and Artificial Intelligence (AI), setting the stage for the next phase of technological evolution in Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region,” said Chow in his speech.
Chow added that the state government has allocated RM60 million to drive this initiative, offering incentives of up to RM2 million annually per eligible company.
These incentives encompass subsidies for space and utilities at GBS TechSpace, access to technology collaborators’ facilities, and a talent development programme through the Penang Chip Design Academy.
“The initiative has also garnered strong support from the Federal Government, with the Ministry of Economy approving initial funding for 2024,” said Chow.
He further mentioned that Penang is committed to developing local firms within the semiconductor design space.
Five local companies have been selected as the inaugural occupants of the Silicon Research & Incubation Space at GBS TechSpace. They include local startups, namely Filpal, Infinecs Lab, and Silicon X, and expanding companies namely SkyeChip and Sophic Automation.
“These firms will benefit from the newly announced incentive packages, reinforcing Penang’s commitment to supporting the new and growing IC design companies, in alignment with the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) target to build 10 Malaysian companies in the design and packaging sector,” he said.
Today’s ceremony also served to announce the establishment of five global giants, namely Alchip, AMD Global Services, Celestica, Microsoft, and Monolithic Power Systems at the Penang IC Design & Digital Park.
Chow said the presence of these industry leaders is expected to drive significant spillover effects to local start-ups, fostering knowledge transfer and sparking innovation across the sector.
“With these new setups, Penang now proudly hosts over 40 IC design-related local and foreign companies, emerging as Malaysia’s IC design hub with the biggest clusters of such companies in the country,” he said.
Anwar said the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative is set to revolutionise Malaysia’s semiconductor industry and is fully aligned with the NSS.
“This groundbreaking initiative marks a pivotal leap into the front-end of the semiconductor value chain and accelerates the AI revolution, positioning Malaysia at the forefront of global technology innovation.
“This is a very proud moment for all of us today,” Anwar said.
Anwar also commended the collaborative efforts of the Penang government through its lead agency InvestPenang and other agencies in realising this ambitious project.
He also announced that the Federal Government has approved an RM50 million allocation to support the state government’s RM60 million incentive.
Also present during the ceremony were Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Human Resources Minister and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying, who is also the Tanjong MP, Penang State Secretary Datuk Zulkifli Long, Deputy Chief Minister I Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid, former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Penang Development Corporation (PDC) chief executive officer Datuk Aziz Bakar and InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Loo Lee Lian.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Darwina Mohd Daud