{"id":7872,"date":"2026-06-25T09:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/?p=7872"},"modified":"2026-06-25T09:45:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:45:48","slug":"shifting-up-the-value-chain-greatasic-xenith-alliance-signals-malaysias-move-to-frontend-chip-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/2026\/06\/25\/shifting-up-the-value-chain-greatasic-xenith-alliance-signals-malaysias-move-to-frontend-chip-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Shifting Up the Value Chain: GreatAsic-Xenith Alliance Signals Malaysia\u2019s Move to Frontend Chip Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul style=\"border-width:15px\" class=\"wp-block-list has-border-color has-vivid-red-border-color\">\n<li><strong>Strategic Pivot to Frontend:<\/strong> The partnership between homegrown GreatAsic Technology and China\u2019s Xenith Technology represents a critical shift from traditional backend packaging to high-value, 5-nanometre (5nm) Integrated Circuit (IC) design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capitalising on Intelligent Mobility:<\/strong> The alliance focuses directly on the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for Level 4 autonomous driving, positioning Malaysia to capture the surging global automotive and electric vehicle (EV) silicon supply chain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NSS Pipeline Realisation:<\/strong> Backed by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), this initiative onboarded 20 local engineers, directly advancing the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) goal to build a highly skilled workforce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Semiconductor Value Chain: Packaging vs. Design<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-712\">Malaysia has historically anchored its tech economy in the backend assembly and testing phase of the semiconductor lifecycle.<sup><\/sup> The agreement between GreatAsic and Xenith explicitly targets the apex of this lifecycle\u2014frontend chip architecture and logic design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Value Chain Segment<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Primary Focus Areas<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Technical Complexity<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Margin Potential<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Malaysia&#8217;s Current Evolution<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Backend OSAT<\/strong><\/td><td>Assembly, packaging, and testing<\/td><td>Moderate<\/td><td>Low to Moderate<\/td><td>Globally dominant (~13% global backend market share)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Frontend IC Design<\/strong><\/td><td>Architecture, custom ASICs, SoC design<\/td><td>High (Advanced Nodes)<\/td><td>Exceptionally High<\/td><td>Growing rapidly via the NSS &amp; new design hubs<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Breaking the Packaging Ceiling: Realising the National Semiconductor Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-713\">For five decades, Malaysia has served as a reliable cornerstone of the global electronics industry. However, under the newly deployed <strong>National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS)<\/strong>. which features RM25 billion (US$6.16 billion) in targeted fiscal incentives, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) has set an aggressive mandate to train 60,000 highly skilled local engineers and shift the nation toward design-led tech ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-714\">The collaboration between GreatAsic Technology Sdn. Bhd. and Xenith Technology (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. marks a major milestone in this transition. The two entities are co-developing a next-generation System-on-Chip (SoC) intended for Level 4 autonomous vehicles utilizing ultra-advanced 5-nanometre process technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking at the value chain event, Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA, emphasised:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-715\">&#8220;The collaboration between GreatAsic and Xenith represents more than a commercial agreement.<sup><\/sup> It reflects growing confidence in Malaysian capabilities, trust in our engineering talent, and the increasing ability of local technology companies to participate in high-value segments of the global semiconductor industry.\u201d<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Talent Mobilisation and Cross-Border Collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-716\">A standout metric from the announcement is the immediate integration of 20 newly recruited Malaysian engineers into advanced engineering practices via GreatAsic&#8217;s dedicated pipeline.<sup><\/sup> The talent ramp-up addresses a critical domestic gap, providing hands-on exposure to advanced Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and silicon platforms.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Ong Chin Hu, Founder and CEO of GreatAsic Technology, noted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Through this collaboration with Xenith, we are not only advancing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and next-generation semiconductor design capabilities, but also opening up new technical horizons for GreatAsic and for Malaysia\u2019s IC design landscape as a whole&#8230; This is a clear example of how Malaysia is capturing the opportunities from the global semiconductor shift, while building stronger local capabilities for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This cross-border commercial deployment allows local engineering teams to absorb critical knowledge transfer from international players. Mr. William Liang Weiqiang, Director of Xenith Technology (Malaysia), stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;By combining our expertise in advanced SoC development with GreatAsic&#8217;s strong local engineering talent, we aim to develop next-generation ADAS sensor processing solutions that address the growing demands of intelligent mobility. Beyond technology development, we see this partnership as an opportunity to strengthen Malaysia&#8217;s domestic semiconductor ecosystem through knowledge transfer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Editor\u2019s Take: The Economics of Tech Ownership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-717\">The commercial alliance between GreatAsic and Xenith demonstrates that Malaysia&#8217;s private sector is actively translating high-level state industrial policy into tangible corporate outcomes.<sup><\/sup> Crucially, this event does not exist in an economic vacuum. Just weeks prior, GreatAsic successfully closed a <strong>US$6.9 million Pre-Series A funding round<\/strong> led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India, alongside Gobi Partners and Ehsan Kapital.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_ecc75d0378258df8-718\">Furthermore, local design firms are leveraging global structural infrastructure; GreatAsic is among the first domestic entities to secure advanced Arm Flexible Access and Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS) tokens. Backed by state ecosystems like the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park, managed by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC), local firms are finally accessing the capital, tools, and partnerships required to move up the value chain. By capturing the intellectual property of 5nm autonomous driving solutions today, Malaysia secures its position in the next-generation global automotive supply chain tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Semiconductor Value Chain: Packaging vs. Design Malaysia has historically anchored its tech economy in the backend assembly and testing phase of the semiconductor lifecycle. The agreement between GreatAsic and Xenith explicitly targets the apex of this lifecycle\u2014frontend chip architecture and logic design. Value Chain Segment Primary Focus Areas Technical Complexity Margin Potential Malaysia&#8217;s Current [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,39],"tags":[1957,1953,1954,1955,1958,1956,1959],"class_list":["post-7872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-news","tag-advanced-driver-assistance-systems","tag-automotive-silicon","tag-integrated-circuit-design","tag-intellectual-property","tag-national-semiconductor-strategy","tag-tech-transfer","tag-venture-capital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7874,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7872\/revisions\/7874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}