Samsung Electronics recently carried out an organizational reshuffle in the DS (Device Solutions) institutional sector and created a "custom SoC development team" within the System LSI business unit. As demand for application-specific (custom) chips grows in the global market, the move is seen as an effort to bolster in-house development capabilities and strengthen business competitiveness.
According to the semiconductor industry on the 2nd, Samsung Electronics created a dedicated organization for custom SoC development under the SoC business team and appointed Vice President Park Bong-il, an expert in SOC (system-on-chip) design, as its head. Park was promoted to vice president and simultaneously put in charge of the new organization, and observers say the shift toward a development-centered structure at System LSI has become more pronounced.
Until now, the System LSI business unit had a high proportion of an outsourcing model that performed design according to customer needs, but with this reshuffle, it appears set to accelerate a shift to a structure that expands in-house SoC architecture, IP, AI, and NPU technology development capabilities and delivers complete, customized chips.
Samsung Electronics already built a foundation for custom SoC development in 2020 by integrating design support organizations that had been scattered across Foundry and System LSI, and at the end of 2023 reorganized into three pillars—SoC, image sensor, and LSI—to streamline its business structure. It also created a Marketing Intelligence team (MI) in charge of market research and demand analysis to strengthen strategic functions.
In the regular personnel appointments in Nov., System LSI head Park Yong-in, who has pushed to normalize AP, remained in his post, and Head of Team Park Bong-il, who has led the advanced development organization, was promoted to vice president, reflecting momentum toward a development-organization-centered structure.
In the industry, some do not view the move merely as a response to global big tech requests, but interpret it as a strategic step to expand the System LSI business unit's business portfolio.
An industry official said, "It appears to be a move to break away from a revenue structure focused on mobile AP design," and added, "It suggests a direction to expand contract design services based on customer needs, similar to Broadcom."