The government has awarded strategic technology access under the Malaysia-Arm collaboration initiative to three local semiconductor companies, namely Great Asic Technology Sdn. Bhd., SkyeChip Bhd. and Oppstar Technology Sdn. Bhd.
A total of four technology tokens, including Arm Compute Subsystems (CSS) and Arm Flexible Access (AFA), were approved under the initiative to help accelerate the development of semiconductor products designed in Malaysia, the Ministry said.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the move signals Malaysia’s transition into a new phase of semiconductor industry development.
“Malaysia has long been recognised for its strengths in chip assembly, testing and packaging activities. While these capabilities remain important, the future of the industry cannot stop there,” he said.
“We must move beyond back-end activities into front-end capabilities — from merely producing chips to designing them, developing intellectual property and creating our own technologies,” he added.
The Malaysia-Arm collaboration focuses on three key pillars, namely training 10,000 IC design talents, providing selected Malaysian firms with access to Arm’s computing technologies and IP portfolio, and developing semiconductor products designed locally.
The initiative Akmal added aligns with the goals outlined under the Rancangan Malaysia Ketiga Belas, the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, and the National Semiconductor Strategy. These national frameworks prioritise higher value-added industrial activities, including chip design, advanced packaging, semiconductor equipment, and wafer fabrication.
The Economy Ministry said the success of the initiative would ultimately be measured by tangible outcomes such as the commercialisation of locally developed products, increased registration of Malaysian-owned semiconductor IP, the creation of high-skilled jobs and greater participation of local talent in high-value chip design work.
