Companies granted computing platform access to drive innovation
PUTRAJAYA: Three homegrown tech firms have been granted exclusive access to global semiconductor giant Arm Limited’s computing platforms.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, who disclosed this, said it however came with a strict caveat – the firms must deliver tangible results.
He said the handover of technology to Great Asic Technology Sdn Bhd, SkyeChip Bhd and Oppstar Technology Sdn Bhd was a heavy responsibility to generate commercialisable products and intellectual property (IP) for the country.
He said the government has done its part by “opening the door” and the industry must now step up to the task.
“To the companies receiving the offer letters, it is not merely an approval, but a call to deliver.
“The real test lies in execution. In products brought to market, IP created in Malaysia, high-skilled jobs generated for Malaysians and stronger linkages with our universities, vendors and research ecosystem,” he said at the handover ceremony at the ministry here yesterday.
The mandate for the companies comes as global demand for semiconductors shift rapidly.
Akmal Nasrullah said the rise of AI, electric vehicles and data centres required chips that are not only faster but smaller, more secure and highly energy-efficient.
The collaboration with Arm aimed to train 10,000 IC design engineers, with 1,362 trainees already enrolled in the Arm On-Demand Training programme, he added.
“This figure gives a signal that the implementing approach must be improved in terms of quality, certification, monitoring and alignment with industry needs,” he said.
While Malaysia’s electrical and electronics sector hit a record RM711.61bil in 2025, the minister said the country’s traditional reliance on back-end assembly, testing and packaging was no longer enough to stay competitive.
“Malaysia’s ambition is clear. We do not want to be merely a location in the global semiconductor supply chain.
“We want to be a nation that designs, develops and owns technology,” he said, adding that the handover was a step towards that.
Commending the three firms, Akmal Nasrullah reminded that the trust placed on them must translate into a wider economic spillover for the country.
“This target is not just a number. It is a strategy to build local companies that are larger, more competitive and capable of standing on the global stage.
“Ultimately, we want to see ‘Made by Malaysia’ products in the global market,” he said.
Under the strategic partnership, the three companies were granted four tokens, including Arm Compute Subsystems (CSS) and Arm Flexible Access (AFA), to fast-track the development of locally designed integrated circuits (IC).
Arm Limited is a prominent British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, renowned for developing and licensing energy-efficient CPU cores and instruction sets that power nearly all modern smartphones, IoT devices and cloud computing infrastructure.
