Malaysia, Arm Drive IC Design Innovation Through Strategic Industry Briefing

Malaysia is accelerating its transformation into a high-value semiconductor innovation hub through a strategic collaboration with British semiconductor giant Arm Holdings plc.

In a major industry engagement hosted on May 6 by the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park and Arm, key stakeholders convened to align on the country’s ambitions in front-end integrated circuit (IC) design and chart a course for long-term ecosystem development.

The Industry Briefing and Engagement Session, held at Four Points by Sheraton, brought together government leaders, global technology experts, and local semiconductor firms for high-level discussions on design enablement, policy alignment, and future investment pathways.

This event follows the formalisation of the Malaysia-Arm partnership in March 2025, a milestone move that supports Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap and New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030. The initiative is designed to shift Malaysia’s semiconductor sector from traditional assembly to a design-led innovation economy, cantered on intellectual property creation, talent development and global competitiveness.

The event was officiated with opening remarks by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) Chief Executive Officer Yong Kai Ping, followed by special remarks from Arm Strategic Business Development Director Alex Lee.

Lee delivered insights into the company’s support for Malaysia’s design ambitions, highlighting Arm’s Flexible Access and Compute Subsystem programmes. These initiatives provide Malaysian IC designers with access to Arm’s cutting-edge intellectual property, including high-performance CPUs, GPUs, NPUs and system interconnects, enabling rapid prototyping, faster time-to-market and cost efficiency.

Participants gained valuable insights into the government’s initiatives for the semiconductor industry through a session led by Economy Ministry special officer (policy) James Chai. The session highlighted the government’s commitment to supporting local design firms and elevating Malaysia’s position within the global semiconductor value chain. Additionally, this session also outlined the application process and qualifying criteria for companies to participate in this high-impact initiative, ensuring industry players are well-informed on how to engage with and benefit from the programme.

The event also spotlighted the convergence of public policy and private-sector expertise as a key enabler for national transformation. With semiconductor design identified as a priority under NIMP 2030, Malaysia is aggressively pursuing vertical integration to retain more value from its electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

Arm’s technologies, known for their modular architecture and scalable performance, are already foundational to global chip design. Their availability to Malaysian firms levels the playing field, offering local players tools to compete in high-growth segments such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, automotive and advanced computing.

The session concluded with targeted networking and engagement between Arm and Malaysian IC design firms, aimed at seeding future partnerships and commercial opportunities.

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