Domestic No.1 Automotive Semiconductor Company Telechips Signs Investment Agreement

Daegu City and Telechips Establish Daegu Research Institute

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] On the 13th at 2 p.m., Daegu City signed an investment agreement at the Daegu City Hall in Sangeok-dong for the establishment of the Daegu Research Center of Telechips, a vehicle semiconductor design specialist company.

Telechips, established in 1999, is the No. 1 domestic vehicle semiconductor specialized design company supplying semiconductor components not only in Korea but also to world-renowned brand car models in Europe, Japan, and other regions.

The headquarters is located in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, with annual sales of 136.4 billion KRW and 338 employees. Recently, with the trend of vehicle electrification and automation, the global vehicle semiconductor market is expected to grow sharply, and Telechips is promoting its leap to a global system semiconductor company through active investment.

The amount of semiconductors used in internal combustion engine vehicles is 200 to 300 units, but future vehicles (electric, hydrogen, autonomous vehicles) exceed 2,000 units, and the global vehicle semiconductor market size recorded 38 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to exceed 67.6 billion USD by 2026.

Choosing Daegu to step into the global market, Telechips plans to invest 33.7 billion KRW in a 1,039㎡ site within Suseong Alpha City to build the Daegu Research Center, and then diversify its business portfolio by developing vehicle communication chips and AI-based next-generation intelligent semiconductors with a specialized research workforce of about 100 people.

In particular, to expedite the operation of the Daegu Research Center, which will consist of software and algorithm development departments, Telechips will establish a temporary research center within Daegu Technopark before the completion of the research center in Suseong Alpha City (scheduled for August 2025) and start operations from March this year.

Lee Jang-gyu, CEO of Telechips, said, “Through industry-academia-research collaboration in the Daegu region, we expect to secure high-level vehicle semiconductor talent and create synergy with Daegu City's future mobility policies such as autonomous driving. We will ensure that the Daegu Research Center secures its status as a future semiconductor R&D hub and becomes a momentum for the growth of the local semiconductor industry.”

Daegu City has selected non-memory semiconductors as one of the five new industries for the next 50 years, and is striving to create a semiconductor industry ecosystem in the region by operating the specialized research institute ‘Sensorium Research Center’ and promoting the establishment of the corporate shared semiconductor foundry ‘D-Fab.’ In this context, the Telechips investment is a significant case as the first attraction of an out-of-region semiconductor company.

Daegu City Hall, Sangyeok-dong Building.

Daegu City expects that if Telechips’ investment becomes a success story, it will be a turning point in creating a local semiconductor industry ecosystem, and through synergy with future mobility (vehicle semiconductors) and ABB (AI semiconductors) companies, it will also help activate related industries and attract companies.

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu City, said, “The investment by Telechips, the No. 1 domestic vehicle semiconductor company, will be the cornerstone for creating a local semiconductor ecosystem. We will spare no administrative and policy support to ensure the swift establishment of the Daegu Research Center.”

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