Silicon Box, a Singapore-based semiconductor startup has opened a US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) chip foundry in the Tampines region of Singapore.
The 73,000 square metre facility will produce semiconductor chiplets for use in areas of artificial intelligence, wearables, and electric vehicles.
A chiplet is a discrete, self-contained semiconductor component that performs a specific function or hosts a specific technology.
Chiplets can be designed, manufactured, and tested independently of each other, and then combined or interconnected to form a larger and more complex integrated circuit.
With support from Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the startup will train and hire 1,200 employees in R&D, manufacturing, supply chain management and information technology.
Silicon Box’s chief executive officer, Han Byung Joon, said the team will shorten the design cycle of chiplets, lower new device costs, reduce power consumption, and enable faster time to market.
This will be done for industry partners involved in artificial intelligence, data centres, electronic vehicles, mobile and wearables while protecting intellectual property, said Han.
According to the company, its proprietary fabrication method delivers one of the shortest interconnections (between different chiplets) using sub 5-micron technology.
JTC’s director of biomedical and electronics cluster group, Cheong Wee Lee, said the facility will house R&D and manufacturing functions to ramp up operations and shorten time-to-market to meet customer demands.
