SemiFive said on March 13 it signed a turnkey contract to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) neural processing unit (NPU) based on Samsung Electronics' 4-nanometre (SF4X) process. The contract is worth about 18 billion won ($12.5 million). The partner is an AI semiconductor fabless company, but its name was not disclosed.

The order follows XCENA's CXL-based 4-nanometre development project and HyperAccel's 4-nanometre development project for an LPU (LLM Processing Unit). SemiFive has won consecutive AI chip design orders based on a 4-nanometre process, expanding its NPU design and mass-production references in the industry.

The NPU to be developed targets an on-premise environment that processes AI computations on the device itself without a network connection. It will be designed with a structure that can handle real-time processing of large-scale data, including high-resolution vision AI and large language model (LLM) inference. The key design direction is to structurally reduce data bottlenecks by preemptively applying a next-generation memory interface and to improve PPA (power, performance, area) efficiency.

SemiFive uses an end-to-end approach that covers the full process from chip specification definition to logic and physical design, packaging, software development, prototype production and mass-production supply, the company said. It said this improves ASIC development efficiency and allows customers to focus on strengthening AI architecture and service competitiveness.

It is currently working on a big-die turnkey project of 800 square millimetres or more and also has high-speed interface design capabilities. The company said its strategy is to establish its position as a strategic partner in the global AI ecosystem in line with rising demand for high-performance AI ASICs.

Chief Executive Jo Myung-hyun (조명현) said, "This order is a case that once again proves that the technology references SemiFive has accumulated and its custom semiconductor design capabilities have the strongest competitive edge in the market." He said, "Through cooperation with customers that have AI architectures, we will maximise synergies in the development of high-performance AI semiconductors and, as an AI ASIC specialist, secure leadership in the custom semiconductor market."