DeepX Expands On-Device AI Semiconductor Business... "Customized Models Applied Starting with LGU+"

[Interview] Kim Nokwon, CEO of DeepX
Development of On-Device AI Semiconductor Applied to LGU+
"Advantage of Expanding LG Group Portfolio Business"

DeepX, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company, is developing an on-device AI (AI operating within the device) semiconductor to be introduced to LG Uplus. It is expected to be the first on-device AI semiconductor customized with the company’s self-developed generative AI model.

Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX / Photo by DeepX

On the 20th, Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX, met with Asia Economy at the company’s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, and said, “We expect to release a demo of the on-device AI semiconductor product targeted at LG Uplus next year, and mass production will follow after that.”

DeepX is a fabless semiconductor design company in its seventh year, collaborating with Hyundai Motor Robotics Lab, POSCO DX, and others. It is developing neural processing units (NPUs) necessary to implement on-device AI in various devices. NPUs are semiconductors modeled after the human brain and are specialized for AI computation.

The company recently gained attention by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG Uplus. It has taken on the role of introducing semiconductors into various services and promising industrial sectors of LG Uplus. LG Uplus has focused on the increasingly important on-device AI business to create “AI that customers can feel,” partnering with DeepX, a leading company in this field.

DeepX views this collaboration as highly advantageous in terms of business scalability within the LG Group portfolio. CEO Kim said, “LG owns various devices through affiliates such as Uplus and Electronics,” adding, “They have home appliances, computers, laptops, and even robots.” He continued, “LG AI Research Institute developed ExaOne, a large language model (LLM), and LG Uplus has its own AI (IXI), so they are ready to collaborate,” explaining, “LG Uplus plans to commercialize what the AI Research Institute created, model it, and expand it to group companies.”

DeepX is focusing on developing on-device AI semiconductors equipped with open-source-based generative AI models such as Meta’s LLaMA. However, since some clients want customized AI models, DeepX is using LG Uplus as a starting point to pioneer this business. He said, “We will create low-power, high-performance on-device AI semiconductors that can run customized models from companies developing generative AI algorithms in the future.”

At the dawn of the on-device AI market, DeepX received new investments worth 110 billion KRW last month. By the end of this year, it plans to begin full-scale mass production of its first-generation AI semiconductor using Samsung Foundry’s 5nm (nanometer; 1nm = one billionth of a meter) process. The mass production schedule is expected to be finalized around September. CEO Kim said, “We tested a chip with commercial-grade quality two weeks ago, and the results were good,” adding, “The situation is hopeful for proceeding to mass production.”

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