SEMIFIVE, a provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) solutions, has signed a turnkey development contract with South Korean AI semiconductor company Mobilint to develop an AI chip for robotics applications. The company announced the agreement from Seoul on Oct. 1, 2026.

Part of a Government-Backed Commercialization Program

The project falls under the "K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development" program, which is led by Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR).

According to the announcement, the government-funded program supports collaboration between domestic AI semiconductor companies and end-user companies. Its purpose is to develop and validate chips tailored to industry-specific products, with the core objective of carrying them through to commercialization.

The two companies said they expect the collaboration to contribute to building a homegrown AI semiconductor ecosystem in Korea, while securing an early lead in next-generation robotics platforms and creating new markets.

Designed for Environments With Limited Connectivity

Through the collaboration, SEMIFIVE and Mobilint aim to deliver a robotics chip capable of performing high-performance AI computation on its own, even in outdoor environments where connectivity to external servers is limited.

The custom chip will be deployed in applications such as agricultural robots, where it will process vision and sensor data in real time across diverse operating conditions.

The "Spec Hand-off" Model

The project will be carried out under SEMIFIVE's "Spec Hand-off" model, which the company describes as the earliest-stage engagement within its turnkey business.

In conventional approaches, customers complete a substantial portion of the design before handing off downstream processes. Under Spec Hand-off, by contrast, customers define only their key performance targets and specifications. SEMIFIVE then delivers integrated services across the entire process, from detailed design to packaging, testing, and mass production.

The announcement characterizes the approach as end-to-end development intended to accelerate commercialization of the robotics AI chip.

Next-Generation Memory and Interface Technologies

The chip will integrate a range of next-generation technologies. These include LPDDR6, which the company describes as the latest low-power DRAM standard, and PCIe Gen6, a high-speed interface.

The design will also incorporate UCIe-S, or Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express – Standard Package. According to the announcement, UCIe-S connects multiple function-specific chiplets at high speed within a single package so that they operate as a single monolithic die.

SEMIFIVE stated that these technologies will enable the chip to achieve both high power efficiency and operational stability without data bottlenecks, even in outdoor settings such as areas with limited network coverage.

Expanding Beyond Data Center and Edge AI

The contract extends SEMIFIVE's business into what the company calls Physical AI, expanding applications beyond data center, high-performance computing (HPC), and edge AI and diversifying its business portfolio.

Brandon Cho, CEO and co-founder of SEMIFIVE, framed the agreement as a milestone for the company. "This contract marks a pivotal moment for SEMIFIVE as we extend our proven, end-to-end ASIC capabilities from data center and edge AI into the realm of robotics AI," Cho said. "As a leader in custom semiconductors, we will continue to expand our technological footprint and influence across advanced industries."

Recent Company Activity

The announcement also pointed to other recent news from SEMIFIVE. The company has signed a contract worth approximately USD 52 million for an AI accelerator with a U.S. fabless company, a deal SEMIFIVE says validates its end-to-end ASIC model in North America.

Separately, SEMIFIVE has begun mass production of HyperAccel's LLM AI inference accelerator, named "Bertha," on Samsung 4nm, a data center chip that the company says is spurring growth momentum.

SEMIFIVE describes itself as a leading global provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) solutions. Mobilint is identified in the announcement as a South Korean AI semiconductor company.

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