Oppstar Technology, Alphaswift Industries Gain Access To Arm Technology
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- Two Malaysian companies, Oppstar Technology Sdn Bhd and Alphaswift Industries Sdn Bhd, have gained access to Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS) technology and the Arm Flexible Access (AFA) programme to accelerate integrated circuit design, research and development (R&D), and semiconductor technology development in Malaysia.
The Ministry of Economy said today that the offer letters were presented under the Strategic Collaboration between the Malaysian government and Arm Limited, which provides the CSS technology and Arm Flexible Access programme.
Access to Arm computing technology will enable companies to accelerate integrated circuit design and R&D activities, including those in drones and advanced microelectronics.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said eight Arm technology access packages, comprising four Arm CSS and four Arm Flexible Access tokens, had so far been offered to five Malaysian companies.
“On talent development, 1,530 participants have taken part in the Arm On-Demand Training programme, against a target of 10,000 talents over four years,” he said in his speech at the ministry’s monthly assembly and the presentation of the offer letters to Arm Limited here today.
Earlier, he presented the offer letters to the two companies under the strategic collaboration between the government and Arm Limited. Also present were Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Indera Mohd Shahar Abdullah and Secretary-General Datuk Seri Nor Azmie Diron.
Akmal Nasrullah said access to global technology would catalyse more chip designs, intellectual property and high-value products to be developed in Malaysia.
“We want access to this global technology to be a catalyst for more chip designs, intellectual property and high-value products developed in Malaysia. This is the foundation for producing local companies and engineers capable of taking Malaysian chip products to global markets,” he said.
The collaboration with Arm is part of Malaysia’s efforts to move beyond its traditional strengths in chip assembly, packaging and testing towards higher-value activities such as chip design and research into advanced technologies.
To strengthen the talent pipeline, a mutual agreement has been reached with 12 universities, with support from the ministry, government agencies and industry, to facilitate a more structured implementation of the Arm On-Demand Training programme.
“Synergy between universities and industry is important to ensure the training provided is aligned with companies’ needs. This includes coordinating academic calendars, integrating Arm modules into learning and recognising them as part of industrial training.
“We need to move from addressing talent shortages to building a structured talent pipeline. Talent must be developed before industry demand becomes critical. The Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) will work together to ensure implementation is properly followed through so the targets set can be achieved,” he said.
He said the efforts were in line with the direction of the 13th Malaysia Plan, National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) and New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) to strengthen Malaysia’s position in the global semiconductor value chain and build a more competitive local technology ecosystem.
The government also welcomes more qualified local technology companies with product development and chip design capabilities to tap opportunities under the strategic collaboration, he said.
-- BERNAMA