Penang bets on IC design talent to move up semiconductor value chain
GEORGE TOWN: Penang is gearing up to train 1,000 integrated circuit (IC) design engineers as it seeks to move beyond manufacturing and capture a bigger share of the semiconductor value chain by designing the chips of the future.
State Trade and National Unity exco Goh Choon Aik said the target, set by the Penang Chip Design Academy (PCDA), includes developing capabilities in areas such as AI chips, advanced packaging and high-speed memory.
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“The semiconductor value chain does not begin at the factory. It begins with ideas, architecture, design and intellectual property,” he said at the Advanced Asia – Innovation and Manufacturing conference at the Iconic Marjorie Hotel in Bayan Baru yesterday.
Goh said PCDA brought together industry, academia, electronic design automation providers and the Penang Skills Development Centre to strengthen IC design capabilities.
The academy is part of the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative, alongside the Penang IC Design and Digital Park and Silicon Research and Incubation Space, which seek to connect infrastructure, talent, research, startups and industry.
A 2025 Kenanga Research analysis estimated that Malaysia had between 10,000 and 15,000 IC designers, with most working for multinational companies, while shortages of engineers and IC designers remained a challenge for the industry.
The National Semiconductor Strategy has set a target of developing 60,000 highly skilled engineers by 2030 to support the expansion of Malaysia’s semiconductor industry, including in IC design, advanced packaging, and research and development.
Penang is also seeing growth in its IC design ecosystem, having attracted more than 50 IC design companies, according to InvestPenang. Goh said the state needs to move from simply developing a workforce to developing an “innovation force”, with continuous upskilling and reskilling needed as technology changes.
He said universities, technical and vocational education and training institutions, training centres and companies must work together to ensure what is taught remains closely connected to industry needs.
Goh said Penang’s approach is not limited to developing IC design talent, but also involves building an ecosystem capable of supporting companies across more parts of the semiconductor value chain.
He said the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative brought together the IC Design and Digital Park, PCDA and the Silicon Research and Incubation Space to provide the infrastructure and talent needed to support innovation.
“If we could strengthen capabilities in IC design, advanced packaging, semiconductor equipment, software and AI, Malaysian companies could participate in more parts of the value chain.”
Goh highlighted the growing role of AI in manufacturing, saying its bigger opportunity is not simply automation but “augmentation”.
He said an experienced engineer supported by AI could analyse problems faster while a technician equipped with intelligent tools could diagnose equipment more effectively.
A manufacturer using real-time data could make better decisions while an SME using AI could access capabilities that previously required much greater resources, he added.
Goh said Penang is already developing AI talent through InvestPenang’s GBS Industry Academy 2.0 – GenAI Talent Ready, launched in 2025 to train and upskill talent in areas including IC design, embedded software, global business services and robotic automation.
