PUTRAJAYA, May 12, 2026 – Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir today highlighted a landmark step in Malaysia’s push to become a regional front-end semiconductor powerhouse, following yesterday’s handover of Arm intellectual property (IP) access tokens to three homegrown companies.
The firms — GreatAsic Technology Sdn Bhd, SkyeChip Bhd, and Oppstar Technology Sdn Bhd — received formal access to Arm’s advanced IP portfolio, including Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS) and Arm Flexible Access (AFA) tokens. A total of four technology tokens were distributed during the May 11 ceremony as part of the government’s strategic collaboration with UK-based Arm Holdings.
Speaking at the event, Minister Akmal Nasir stressed the national significance of the move.
“Kita mara satu langkah untuk cita-cita kita,” he said, underscoring that the handover is not just symbolic but a concrete push to shift Malaysia from traditional back-end semiconductor activities (assembly, testing, and packaging) to high-value front-end design and innovation.
The minister also provided a positive update on the ongoing Arm On-Demand Training programme at Malaysian universities.
Currently, 1,362 trainees are actively undergoing modules, out of 2,087 who have registered. The four-year initiative aims to train up to 10,000 local talents to support the growing semiconductor ecosystem.
“This collaboration will enable us to produce ‘Made by Malaysia’ chips within the next three years,” Akmal added, urging the recipient companies to deliver results for the nation.
The development is part of a broader 10-year partnership valued at approximately US$250 million, designed to elevate Malaysia’s position in the global semiconductor value chain and reduce reliance on foreign IP.
Industry observers see this as a major boost for Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan, positioning the country as a competitive player in chip design amid rising global demand for advanced semiconductors.
The full video of the minister’s remarks is available on his official X account.
Life News Agency will continue to monitor this story as local firms begin leveraging the new Arm IP to develop Malaysia-made semiconductor solutions.
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