As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom reshapes the semiconductor industry landscape, the presence of Korean corporations at Computex is also growing. Computex, Asia's largest IT and computing exhibition that was once focused on PCs and peripherals, has evolved into a show that spans AI servers, data centers, robots, and mobility, drawing a large number of memory, semiconductor equipment, and AI Semiconductor corporations to Taiwan.
According to the industry on the 3rd, the official Computex tally shows 39 Korean participating corporations this year. Unlike in the past, when the event largely centered on PC manufacturers and peripheral makers, participation by Korean corporations has been rising rapidly as investment in AI servers expands and the importance of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), enterprise SSDs, advanced packaging equipment, and AI Semiconductors grows.
Taiwan is building the world's largest semiconductor ecosystem centered on TSMC, with design, production, packaging, and server manufacturing corporations clustered together. With key corporations in the global semiconductor supply chain concentrated there, Computex is seen as having established itself not only as a technology exhibition but also as a business stage to secure global customers and supply chain partners. In fact, SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, HANMI Semiconductor, and FADU also took part in this year's event to court global clients.
The main theme at this year's Computex is clearly "Physical AI." While Generative AI has grown around data centers, the idea is that a new era is opening in which AI operates in real-world industrial settings such as robots and drones, smart factories, and industrial computers. Nvidia also put forward Physical AI and Robotics as its next growth pillars at the event.
Among domestic AI Semiconductor startups, DeepX stands out. As one of the corporations that joined Computex among domestic AI Semiconductor startups at an early stage, DeepX is participating for the fourth time this year. The company won an Innovation Award at INNOVEX, the Computex startup pavilion, in 2023.
This year, it operated an independent pavilion and unveiled its global mass-production cooperation ecosystem and Physical AI use cases. It showcased cases of its AI Semiconductors being applied across various industries, including robots, smart infrastructure, intelligent video security, smart factories, smart healthcare, and on-device OCR.
In particular, DeepX's AI Semiconductor "DX-M1" was exhibited not only at its own booth but also at the booths of more than 30 global partners, including Advantech, ASRock, and MSI. This indicates it is entering the actual mass-production phase, centered on the industrial PC and Edge AI markets. Cooperation with China's Baidu is also expanding. In Korea, it completed mass-production validation of on-device AI Semiconductors with the Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Lab and is aiming to begin full-scale supply by the end of the year.
DeepX CEO Kim Nok-won said, "Just three years ago, there were not many corporations talking about Physical AI, but now it is the central theme of the exhibition," and added, "By around 2030, everyone will be calling it the era of Physical AI."
Kim said, "Computex is the central stage for the global semiconductor and ICT industries," and explained, "It is a market where technology and business potential are evaluated, and where customers from around the world come directly to verify products." He added, "For semiconductor corporations, it is an important venue to show technology directly to global customers and forge actual business partnerships."
Based on these mass-production results, DeepX set this year's sales target at 60 billion won. It is also aiming to turn a profit next year.
Beyond DeepX, domestic startups are using Computex as a springboard for entering global markets. In the INNOVEX Korea Pavilion, XR content startup Mangrove and digital mental healthcare corporation Bwave took part and met overseas buyers and investors.
The industry sees new opportunities opening not only for memory, packaging equipment, displays, and AI Semiconductors but also for a variety of technology startups, as AI competition spreads from data centers to actual industrial sites. There are also projections that the role of Korean corporations will grow further on global supply chain stages like Computex.