PUTRAJAYA — Three local companies have been given offers under the strategic collaboration between the Malaysian government and Arm Ltd as part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s capabilities in integrated circuit (IC) design.
Great Asic Technology Sdn Bh, SkyeChip Bhd and Oppstar Technology Sdn Bhd will be able to access Arm Ltd’s computing platforms and intellectual property (IP) portfolio, aimed at accelerating the development of locally designed semiconductor products.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the initiative 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. While these capabilities remain important, we must move beyond back-end activities into front-end capabilities — from manufacturing to designing, developing IP and creating our own technologies,” he said.
He said this to reporters after the Letter of Offer Presentation Ceremony for Approved Entities under the Strategic Partnership between the Malaysian Government and Arm Ltd here today.
The Malaysia-Arm Ltd collaboration is centred on three key pillars: training 10,000 IC design talents, providing selected Malaysian companies with access to Arm’s computing technologies and portfolio, and developing locally designed semiconductor products.
Access is provided through four tokens that include Arm CSS (Compute Subsystems) and Arm Flexible Access (AFA).
The local companies receiving the tokens must also set specific commitments to fulfil, including employment of local skilled talents, greater value creation within the industry supply chain, as well as the development of local design capabilities and homegrown technologies.
“Once they move into the creation stage, there will naturally be a timeline agreed between the companies and Arm Ltd, depending on the designs being developed. Only after that will the commercialisation process take place,” he said.
The minister added that he has set a target for Malaysia to produce chips that can be labelled “Made by Malaysia” within three years.
On the types of chips, he said server-related chips are among the key focus areas, given the rapid development of data centres in the country.
Demand for high-performance chips is expected to increase as data centre operators usually need to upgrade their server capacities within two to three years.
At the same time, the government also sees major potential in the development of chips for the automotive and vehicle automation sectors.
“There are also several other focus areas based on the strengths of the respective companies and the market segments they can target,” he added.
Akmal said the government is now focused on ensuring that all tokens allocated under the collaboration are fully utilised, while noting that there is still room to assess additional companies for future IP access.
He added that several companies are undergoing technical evaluations before being brought to the steering committee for further consideration.
According to Akmal, the government is prepared to open up opportunities for more local companies to apply for access under the two token categories.
“CSS recipients are expected to be ready to move directly into the product creation stage, while AFA is intended to provide exposure to the technologies and capabilities available within the Arm ecosystem,” he said.
He added that the collaboration would help local companies that are not yet ready to develop their own chips by enabling them to learn the technology and identify future development opportunities.
In the long term, Akmal said the government hopes Malaysia’s industrial capabilities, IP design development and local talent pool will position the country as an important part of the global semiconductor supply chain.
“We aspire for Malaysian-produced chips to be part of the global value chain,” he added. – May 11, 2026