Penang has on Tuesday marked another major milestone under the Penang Silicon Design @5KM+ (PSD@5KM+) initiative, with the official opening of the Shared Lab for IC Design Validation & Characterization as a shared facility for Penang-based integrated circuit (IC) design companies, and the onboarding of its second batch of technology collaborators, further strengthening Malaysia’s IC design ecosystem.
InvestPenang said in a statement that driven and coordinated by the entity since PSD@5KM+’s launch in December 2024, this initiative reflects a deliberate, ecosystem-led approach to building Penang’s IC design capabilities.
It brings together infrastructure, talent development, funding facilitation, and strategic partnerships within a comprehensive and interconnected framework.
The newly opened Shared Lab is a purpose-built facility dedicated to post-silicon validation and characterization.
It provides IC design companies with access to advanced equipment, expert support, and a collaborative electrostatic discharge (ESD) environment.
Importantly, the facility is accessible not only to incubatees within the Silicon Design & Incubation Space, but also to IC design companies across Penang—underscoring InvestPenang’s commitment to shared infrastructure and ecosystem-wide enablement.
During the event, PSD@5KM+ also announced the onboarding of its second batch of technology collaborators, namely Oppstar Technology, X-FAB Sarawak, Contacthings, and ElectroRent, with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) exchange held to formalize the partnerships.
With these new additions, PSD@5KM+ now counts 18 technology collaborators in its ecosystem.
These collaborations significantly enhance the ecosystem’s capabilities across advanced design services, diverse foundry process nodes, and robust post-silicon validation infrastructure.
In addition, Contacthings and ElectroRent, together with Keysight and MIMOS, were announced as key partners for the Shared Lab, contributing critical expertise and resources to uphold the technical excellence required for the initiative.
With the opening of the Shared Lab and new technology collaborators, PSD@5KM+ is evolving into an end-to-end IC design ecosystem, offering seamless pathways from design to validation and commercialization.
By bridging critical gaps in Malaysia’s semiconductor value chain, the initiative enables IC design startups to access shared, high-value infrastructure, reduce time-to-market, and scale with greater confidence.
To further support collaboration, an area within the Silicon Design & Incubation Space is being converted into hybrid co-working offices, offering flexible work environments for potential incubatees and early-stage IC design companies.
“As we move forward, let us do so with ambition, collaboration, and conviction — to shape not only Penang’s future, but also the future of global semiconductor design,
“Together, we can realize our vision of producing the first generation of ‘Made by Malaysia’ chip – designed, developed and driven from Penang,” said Chow Kon Yeow, the Chief Minister of Penang.
It is noted that since the launch of PSD@5KM+, Penang has achieved several key milestones, including the creation of more than 9,500 high-value jobs in the Semiconductor Design and Development sector, and the expansion of Penang’s IC design players from 25 to over 50 companies, positioning the state as the fastest-growing IC design hub in the nation.
In parallel, through the Penang Chip Design Academy, more than 400 talents have been trained in critical IC design skills—ranging from the IC Mastery Program for fresh graduates, to upskilling and reskilling initiatives for existing engineers, and Arm on Demand training with 96 percent of graduates from the IC Mastery Program are now employed within the IC design industry.
Notably, Malaysia’s first FPGA chip as well as advanced HBM3E and Network-on-Chip (NoC) technologies were developed by Penang-based engineers through companies such as SkyeChip and Silicon X.
Building on this strong momentum, PSD@5KM+ remains focused to nurturing more early-stage startups and accelerating their growth within three to five years, upskilling existing talent, expanding incubation facility, facilitating access to funding and exploring global business opportunities for the IC design startups.
Through these concerted efforts, Penang continues to advance Malaysia’s National Semiconductor Strategy — propelling the nation further up the global semiconductor value chain and reinforcing its position as a hub for innovation, talent, and high-value technology.
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