Samsung Electronics Foundry to Connect with Japanese Fabless Companies

Jeong Gyudong, CEO of Gaon Chips

Jung Kyu-dong, CEO of Gaon Chips

IPO to Gain Trust from Japanese Customers

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] "We are bringing Samsung Foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) to meet Japanese fabless (semiconductor design specialist companies) customers."

Jung Kyu-dong, CEO of Gaon Chips, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 27th, "Although we have retained earnings exceeding 10 billion KRW, the reason for going public (IPO) is to expand our business targeting Japanese customers together with Samsung Electronics." Approaching as a listed company with transparent corporate information is advantageous in the Japanese market.

CEO Jung added, "We plan to actively secure local fabless customers through cooperation with Samsung's Japan branch." Among the 266 projects Gaon Chips has undertaken, the number of completed projects for its major client Samsung Foundry reached 180 (cumulative as of 2021). All founding members of Gaon Chips, including CEO Jung, are former Samsung Electronics employees. Through this listing, Gaon Chips plans to gain global market trust and stand at the forefront of customer acquisition as a partner company aligned with Samsung's vision to become the global No.1 in system semiconductors by 2030.

Founded in 2012, Gaon Chips is a Design Solution Partner (DSP) that acts as a bridge between system semiconductor fabless companies and foundries. It provides services that optimize the design blueprints created by fabless companies to fit each foundry's manufacturing process.

CEO Jung explained, "People find the DSP concept difficult, but to simplify, it is similar to an architectural designer. If the fabless company is like a bird's-eye view (blueprint), the DSP designs the architecture, and the actual house is built by the construction company (foundry). This analogy makes it easier to understand." When fabless companies design semiconductors, Gaon Chips performs additional work in the middle to meet the requirements of Samsung Electronics' foundry production lines and fabless customers. In this process, Gaon Chips' customers effectively become Samsung Electronics' customers as well.

Gaon Chips' core competitiveness lies in its skilled engineers. The company has a total of 147 employees, with engineers making up 88%, the highest ratio in the industry. It has built a top-tier talent pool with extensive project experience from Samsung Electronics and various global companies. It is also the only domestic company simultaneously developing and mass-producing ultra-fine high-end process projects below 8~5nm (nanometers). Over the past three years, its sales have ranged from 17 billion to 32 billion KRW, with operating profits between 2 billion and 6 billion KRW.

Through this IPO, Gaon Chips plans to offer 2 million shares. The expected offering price is between 11,000 KRW and 13,000 KRW per share, with a total offering amount of 22 billion to 26 billion KRW. The demand forecast will be conducted over two days from May 2 to 3, followed by subscription from May 11 to 12, with plans to enter the KOSDAQ market in mid-May. Daishin Securities is the lead underwriter for the listing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.