FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    
April 11, 2025                                  
                                                 
MSS Holds 7th Meeting of Fabless-Foundry Council for Mutual Growth

SEJONG – On April 10, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) held the 7th Meeting of the Fabless-Foundry Council for Mutual Growth (the Council) at the Inter-university Semiconductor Research Center (ISRC) at Seoul National University (SNU). The meeting was chaired by the Director General for Startup Policy and attended by experts from the Korea Fabless Industry Association (KFIA), domestic foundries, and professors from the SNU System-IC Industry Promotion Center (SIPC).

The Council has been instrumental in fostering collaboration between fabless companies and foundries, leading to three successful Fabless Challenges. These initiatives support promising fabless startups by helping them develop prototypes. Discussions in 2024 on stage-based support measures for fabless startups led to the establishment of the Fabless Startup Integrated Support Program in 2025, reflecting industry input in policymaking.

The meeting opened with a presentation by Professor Ryu Soo-jung of SIPC, titled "Global Trends and Key Issues in the System Semiconductor Industry." This was followed by detailed briefings on the 2025 Fabless Challenge, key initiatives of the KFIA and domestic foundries, and plans for a survey on the current status of fabless companies.
In-depth discussions focused on strategic responses and collaborative strategies for the domestic system semiconductor industry in light of recent global shifts, including reciprocal tariffs announced by the United States.

During the meeting, MSS officially announced the 2025 Fabless Challenge. This annual program, launched in 2022, selects promising fabless startups in partnership with domestic foundries. Selected startups receive Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) services at no cost, along with opportunities for new product development. To date, 15 companies have benefited from the program.

Significantly, beginning in 2024, all domestic foundries, including Samsung Foundry, DB HiTek and SK keyfoundry, have joined in the Challenge. This expansion has broadened the scale of support and diversified the available MPW processes.

The 2025 Challenge will recruit fabless startups established within the past 10 years that wish to use the MPW processes offered by the three domestic foundries. Five startups will be selected through a two-step evaluation process, involving both document review and presentation assessment.

The selected startups will receive priority access to MPW fabrication processes and financial support ranging from KRW 100 million to KRW 200 million per company.

CHO Kyung-won, Director General for Startup Policy, stated, “As competition for semiconductor leadership intensifies between major nations such as the U.S. and China, it is more important than ever for the entire system semiconductor ecosystem to work together.” He added, “MSS will continue to strengthen the ecosystem through mutual cooperation between fabless and foundry companies and proactive responses to global challenges.”
 
About Fabless-Foundry Council for Mutual Growth
The Fabless-Foundry Council for Mutual Growth is a regular communication channel organized by MSS to enhance the competitiveness of Korea’s fabless and system semiconductor industries. Established in 2022, the Council aims to address challenges faced by small fabless companies and incorporate collaborative solutions into government policy. As of 2025, it has convened seven times.
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