Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Neural Semiconductor Inc., United States, has officially opened its VLSI design center at GBS@Mayang, Bayan Lepas, Penang.
The company was incorporated in Malaysia in January 2026, and the Penang center is its first design operation in Southeast Asia, the firm said in a statement on last Friday.
The center carries out integrated circuit design and development work in Penang, from architecture and RTL through to physical implementation on advanced process nodes.
Recruitment is under way in Penang for physical design, design verification and design automation roles.
Engineering at the center spans the full ASIC and SoC design cycle — architecture and RTL design, AMS design, RFIC design, design verification, physical design, custom layout, design-for-test and design automation — on Cadence and Synopsys digital and custom flows.
The center takes design programmes end to end, owning the technical scope and sign-off criteria rather than contributing engineers to someone else’s flow, and carries them through to tape-out readiness and post-silicon support.
The company’s view of the market gap is straightforward: Malaysia’s design sector is growing faster than its experienced engineering base, and design work that could be done here is going overseas because the engineering capacity is not available locally.
The Penang operation is backed by Neural Semiconductor Limited, Dhaka — an affiliated company under common directorship — which has run production VLSI engineering for more than ten years on customer programmes in Europe, the United States, Japan and Korea.
It is noted that Malaysia is not the group’s first design operation, and the Penang center begins with that engineering practice behind it rather than assembling it from scratch.
The center is staffed by engineers employed directly by Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd., recruited in Malaysia and internationally, among them senior engineers who have relocated from Dhaka as direct employees of the Malaysian company.
Their advanced-node production experience means the centre can take on advanced-node programmes from the outset rather than building that record over several years.
Meanwhile, Neural Semiconductor is partnering with the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) and the Penang Chip Design Academy (PCDA) to take graduates from each training batch directly into live design projects, paired with experienced leads on advanced-node work from their first year.
Senior foreign engineers are assigned to transfer flow ownership to Malaysian engineers rather than being retained indefinitely, with local engineers named as successors as each programme matures.
Design work that would otherwise be done overseas is carried out and invoiced in Malaysia, with the resulting engineering wages and corporate activity contributing to the Malaysian tax base.
“The establishment of Neural Semiconductor’s VLSI design center further strengthens Penang’s position as a growing IC design hub. Beyond expanding our design capabilities, the company’s commitment to nurturing local talent through knowledge transfer from its existing centers is particularly encouraging,
“This aligns with the objectives of PSD@5KM+ to develop a stronger pipeline of local IC design engineers, deepen our homegrown capabilities and position Penang to play a more meaningful role in the global semiconductor value chain,” said Jagdeep Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
Mohammed A. Jabbar, Managing Director of Neural Semiconductor, said they believe the future of the semiconductor industry will be shaped not only by technology, but by the ability to build strong engineering ecosystems across borders.
“Our decision to establish Neural Semiconductor in Penang is driven by that belief. This is not simply an overseas expansion; it is a strategic diversification of our capabilities, markets and talent base,
“We want to bring our global VLSI experience to Malaysia, create meaningful opportunities for local engineers, and build a sustainable platform that can serve semiconductor companies across the region,” he added.
He said the firm’s vision is to grow Neural Semiconductor into a globally connected engineering organization — one that combines international experience with local talent, innovation with execution, and today’s capabilities with tomorrow’s opportunities.
“Penang is an important step in that journey,” he added.
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