SemiFive acquires Hanatec

This acquisition combines Hanatec’s design, turnkey, and platform services with SemiFive's SoC platform and ASIC capabilities, to create a company with more than 300 employees worldwide. This is SemiFive's third acquisition following Sesol Semiconductor (another Samsung Foundry SAFETM DSP) and Dahsim in 2020. The wave of more domain specific applications including artificial intelligence (AI), AIoT, and automotive is driving an explosive demand for more custom silicon as seen in companies like Apple and Tesla. SemiFive's Platform SoC aims to reduces chip development cost and schedule. Several AI semiconductor companies in Korea are developing their own custom silicon with SemiFive's Platform SoC solutions. “The acquisition of Hanatec, with its solid technology and customer base, enables SemiFive to further accelerate its position as a global semiconductor company,” says Brandon Cho, CEO and founder of SemiFive in a press release. “Customers are asking us to make more custom chips, and the addition of Hanatec’s team and capabilities makes us better equipped to execute our rapid growth strategy in addressing the market demand.” “This acquisition is an important milestone and opportunity to create a major driving force for the global expansion by combining semiconductor capabilities accumulated in South Korea," adds Jae-man Lee, CEO and founder of Hanatec. “In particular, we will develop various design platforms based on Samsung Foundry’s process technology and its SAFETM design infrastructure, which will serve as a gateway for global customers who want to utilize Samsung's superior technology solutions." SEMIFIVE says it is advancing its global footprint and engineering capabilities to India, Vietnam and Pakistan beyond its current sites in Korea. It is also expanding its sales and engineering office in the United States as part of its global customer reach.