South Korean AI chipmakers Rebellions Inc. and Sapeon Korea Inc. have finalized a merger agreement, as announced on Sunday. The merger, first revealed in June, will see Sapeon Korea, established by SK Telecom, become the surviving entity, with Rebellions’ leadership overseeing the new organization. The merger will help the company compete with global AI chip leaders like Nvidia.
Under the agreement, the equity value ratio is set at 2.4:1, as the relative values of the two firms. The merged entity is expected to be operational by the end of the year, pending due diligence and shareholder approval.
Following the merger, the newly formed entity will retain the name ‘Rebellions’ and will be led by Rebellions’ CEO, Park Sung-hyun. To ensure stability and secure the new management’s position, current SAPEON shareholders, including SK Telecom, SK Square, and SK Hynix, will divest 3% of their shares before the merger is finalized. Despite this adjustment, SK Telecom will remain a strategic investor, focusing on expanding the company’s global footprint in the AI semiconductor market.
SK Telecom, which holds a large stake in SAPEON, alongside SK Hynix and SK Square, will continue to support the merged company’s growth. This support is expected to help South Korea’s standing in the AI chip industry.
SK Telecom’s CEO, Ryu Young-sang, said the merger would strengthen the company’s global position in AI semiconductors, a key component of its strategic value chain development.
Rebellions, founded in 2020, has already launched two AI chips and secured over $225 million in funding, including a recent $15 million investment from Wa’ed Ventures. The startup plans to introduce its next-generation AI chip, ‘REBEL,’ by the end of this year. In contrast, SAPEON Korea, spun off from SK Telecom’s R&D unit in 2016, has been developing high-performance AI semiconductors, including South Korea’s first AI chip for data centers and the ‘X330’ released last November.
The merger combines Rebellions’ innovative chip development capabilities with SAPEON’s established semiconductor expertise. This strategic merger aims to enhance the merged entity’s competitive edge in the global AI semiconductor industry, leveraging their collective strengths in neural processing units (NPUs) and advanced chip technologies.
Park Sung-hyun, Co-founder and CEO of Rebellions, emphasized that the merger represents a pivotal move to expand South Korea’s leadership from memory semiconductors into logic chips and AI domains. “Our aim is to become a prominent player in the global AI chip market and navigate the competitive landscape effectively,” he stated.
Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, underscored that this merger will significantly enhance their global position within the AI semiconductor sector, a crucial component of their broader AI value chain. He assured continued strategic investment and collaboration to position the new entity as a leader in the AI era.
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