SEMIFIVE Acquires Hanatec

Accelerates SoC design leadership for Samsung Foundry’s SAFE ecosystem

SAN JOSE, Calif.-- December 14, 2021 -- SEMIFIVE, a leading design solution provider and pioneer of platform-based custom silicon solutions, today announced it has acquired Hanatec Co. Ltd., an official Samsung Foundry Design Solution Partner (DSP) and leading provider of ASIC design services. This acquisition combines Hanatec’s design, turnkey, and platform services with SEMIFIVE’s SoC platform and ASIC capabilities, to create the fastest growing Samsung Foundry SAFE DSP with more than 300 employees worldwide. This is SEMIFIVE’s third acquisition following Sesol Semiconductor (another Samsung Foundry SAFETM DSP) and Dahsim in 2020.

SEMIFIVE is pioneering the Platform SoC solution that leverages software development methodology to address the challenges of the quickly evolving global semiconductor industry. 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 significantly reduces chip development cost and schedule, enabling more diverse industry players to innovate and challenge the semiconductor landscape. Several leading 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,” said Brandon Cho, CEO and founder of SEMIFIVE. “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," said 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 SAFE design infrastructure, which will serve as a gateway for global customers who want to utilize Samsung's superior technology solutions."

SEMIFIVE 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.

About SEMIFIVE

SEMIFIVE is the pioneer of platform based SoC design, working with customers to implement innovative ideas into custom silicon in the most efficient way. Our SoC platforms offer a powerful springboard for new chip designs, and leverage configurable domain-specific architectures and pre-validated key IP pools. We offer comprehensive spec-to-system capabilities with end-to-end solutions so that custom SoCs can be realized faster, with reduced cost and risks for key applications such as data center or AI-enabled IoT. With a strong partnership with Samsung Foundry as a leading SAFE DSP partner, as well as the larger ecosystem, SEMIFIVE provides a one-stop shop solution for any SoC design needs.