Samsung-LX "Semiconductor Alliance" cooperates to develop next Generation chips
CTOnews.com July 3 news, LX Semicon, a fabless company formerly part of LG Group's integrated enterprise LX Group, is currently considering commissioning the production of next-generation display driver integrated circuits (DDIs) to Samsung Electronics OEM.
Samsung's collaboration with LX is expected to have a positive impact on Korea's semiconductor ecosystem and diversify its supply chain.
According to industry sources on July 2, LX Semicon has selected Samsung Electronics as its foundry partner to jointly develop and mass produce the next generation of chips.
As one of Korea's leading Fabless companies, LX Semicon manufactures DDIs that control pixels for smartphones and TV displays. Its main customers include LG Display and Chinese companies such as BOE and CSOT.
The company has recently been expanding its business to include power semiconductors for display devices and microcontroller units (MCUs) for cars, while increasing the proportion of high-unit-price organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.
Similar to other Fabless companies, LX Semicon is only responsible for developing chips, and production is entrusted to foundries, spending more than 1 trillion won a year (CTOnews.com Note: Currently about 5.5 billion yuan).
So far, LX Semicon has mainly outsourced the production of high-end products to TSMC, while the low-end products are handled by SK Hynix System IC; due to its association with LG Group, LX Semicon has not previously cooperated with Samsung Electronics OEM.
Earlier this year, LX Semicon began talks with Samsung. Earlier this year, Samsung Display and LX Semicon decided to jointly research and develop the DDIs needed for the next generation of OLED panels for smartphones.
In addition to DDIs, LX Semicon and Samsung Electronics Foundry are expected to continue to collaborate on various next-generation chip developments. This is considered a significant step towards strengthening the indigenous semiconductor ecosystem. It creates a virtuous circle in which the next-generation display chips developed by Korean fabless are mass-produced by Korean foundries and supplied to Korean display companies.
