AI Infrastructure / AI news for Malaysia
SkyeChip Joins Japan's SAIMEMORY to Design Next-Generation AI Memory
SkyeChip, listed on Bursa Malaysia, will supply design support and custom IP to SAIMEMORY's ZAM memory programme for AI data centres. No contract value was disclosed, and SoftBank targets prototypes only in the year to March 2028.
In brief
- SkyeChip Bhd and Japan's SAIMEMORY announced a design and engineering collaboration on 21 October. SkyeChip will supply design and engineering support and custom intellectual property (IP) for SAIMEMORY's Z-Angle Memory (ZAM) programme.[1][4][2]
- ZAM aims for high capacity, high bandwidth and lower power use in data centres that train and run large AI models. SoftBank's February release targets prototypes in FY2027 and commercialisation in FY2029.[1][3]
- The statements give no contract value, start date or Malaysian manufacturing role.[1][4]
What the companies announced
SkyeChip Bhd, a chip designer listed on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market since 20 May 2026, has entered a design and engineering collaboration with SAIMEMORY Corp of Japan. In a joint statement reported on 21 October, the companies said SkyeChip will provide design and engineering support and custom IP solutions for SAIMEMORY's ZAM programme. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) repeated the details on 22 October.[1][4][2]
SAIMEMORY is a Tokyo-based subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. It is developing ZAM for data centres and other uses that train and run large AI models. The companies call the engagement a step towards a long-term partnership aimed at commercialising ZAM. No financial terms were published.[1][4][3]
What the two companies announced
According to The Star's report of the statement, SkyeChip will bring silicon design and integration expertise to the programme. Chief executive Datuk Fong Swee Kiang said AI computing is limited by "the memory wall", and that SkyeChip's memory interface technology is "the door through that wall". SAIMEMORY's president and CEO, Hideya Yamaguchi, said SkyeChip's expertise and experience would play an important role in developing ZAM.[4][1]
The statement describes a design and engineering engagement. It does not say SkyeChip will manufacture memory, and it gives no start date, duration or value. Fong said the collaboration expands SkyeChip's involvement in advanced AI memory programmes. SAIMEMORY's homepage lists the announcement dated 21 October.[4][2]
What ZAM is and where it stands
SoftBank's press release of 3 February 2026 says SAIMEMORY was established in December 2024 and signed a collaboration agreement with Intel on 2 February to advance ZAM. The memory is designed for high capacity, high bandwidth and low power consumption. SAIMEMORY aims to build prototypes in the fiscal year ending 31 March 2028 (FY2027) and to commercialise ZAM in FY2029.[3]
UTM and The Star both say ZAM sits inside a research and development project subsidised by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). SoftBank adds that SAIMEMORY will build on technology Intel validated in its Next Generation DRAM Bonding initiative. The companies' targets are untested.[1][4][3]
SkyeChip's ties to UTM
UTM says Datuk Fong graduated from the university with first-class honours in electrical engineering in 1986. SkyeChip's relationship with UTM began in 2021, when its engineers gave industrial lectures and recruited students for internships. A memorandum of understanding signed at the Johor Bahru campus on 15 September 2022 covers research and academic collaboration in AI and high-performance computing.[1]
The initiatives discussed include a satellite lab, industrial training, final-year project sponsorship and industrial grants. UTM's post does not say whether any of these have started, or whether UTM students will work on ZAM.[1][2]
Why Malaysia should care
Malaysia's AI discussion usually centres on data centres and GPUs. This news is about a Malaysian-listed company contributing design work to the memory layer that feeds AI chips with data. The announcement names no Malaysian fabrication, jobs or investment. UTM links the company to internships and lectures for its engineering students. Read the deal as a sign of design capability. No revenue figure supports a forecast.
Malaysian IC design and electronics firms
A Malaysian-listed firm has won design work in AI memory, which shows overseas demand for interface skills.[1][4]
Practical move: Ask overseas AI-hardware teams which design services they buy.
Engineering faculties and students
SkyeChip's internships and lectures at UTM since 2021 link campus training to industry design work.[1]
Practical move: Ask partner firms which circuit design and verification skills they hire for.
What Malaysians can do now
- Check SkyeChip's announcements on Bursa Malaysia for contract terms. The sources we read contain none.
- If you run an electronics or IC design SME, ask overseas AI-hardware teams which design services they buy.
- Treat the ZAM dates as SoftBank's targets. Prototypes come first, in FY2027.
What we still do not know
Several details are still open.
- The contract value, length and start date.
- Whether SkyeChip's IP will appear in the first ZAM prototypes.
- How far ZAM will beat current memory on capacity, bandwidth and power use.
Sources
- 1.UTM alumnus Datuk Fong Swee Kiang leads SkyeChip into Japan’s next-generation AI memory programme Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 23 October 2026
- 2.SAIMEMORYとSkyeChip、AI向け次世代メモリー技術「ZAM」の実用化に向けて協業 SAIMEMORY Corp., 21 October 2026
- 3.SoftBank Corp. Subsidiary SAIMEMORY and Intel Collaborate to Commercialize Next-generation Memory Technology SoftBank Corp., 3 February 2026
- 4.SkyeChip collaborates with Japan's SAIMEMORY on next-generation AI memory technology The Star, 21 October 2026
- 5.File:Sultan Ibrahim Chancellor Building.jpg Wikimedia Commons, 2 April 2018
- 6.File:Samsung 8GB DDR4-2400 ECC Registered RDIMM M393A1G40EB1-CRC0Q - front view.jpg Wikimedia Commons, 3 August 2026
- 7.File:Shiodome.JPG Wikimedia Commons, 15 December 2014
