The government has handed offer letters to Oppstar Technology Sdn Bhd and Alphaswift Industries Sdn Bhd, granting the two local companies access to Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS) technology and the Arm Flexible Access programme.
The access is part of the strategic collaboration between the Malaysian government and Arm Limited, aimed at strengthening the country’s capabilities in integrated circuit design and advanced technology development.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said eight Arm technology accesses, comprising four Arm CSS and four Arm Flexible Access tokens, have so far been offered to five Malaysian companies.
At the same time, 1,530 participants have completed the Arm On-Demand Training programme, moving towards the government’s target of developing 10,000 talents over four years.
The government wants access to global technology to spur more locally developed chip designs, intellectual property and high-value products, while enabling Malaysian engineers and companies to bring homegrown chip products to the global market.
The initiative is also intended to accelerate Malaysia’s shift from its traditional strengths in semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing towards higher-value activities such as chip design and advanced technology research.
To strengthen the talent pipeline, agreements have also been reached with 12 universities to support a more structured rollout of Arm On-Demand Training, including incorporating Arm modules into academic programmes and industrial training.
The initiative is aligned with the 13th Malaysia Plan, National Semiconductor Strategy and New Industrial Master Plan 2030, as Malaysia seeks to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor value chain and build a more competitive domestic technology ecosystem.
