Malaysia’s National Semiconductor Strategy, launched on 28 May 2024, sets five targets: at least RM500 billion of investment by 2030; 60,000 trained engineers; at least 10 local design and advanced packaging companies with revenue of RM1 billion to RM4.7 billion; at least 100 companies with revenue nearing RM1 billion; and a global research hub, backed by at least RM25 billion of fiscal support (MITI, 2024).
Reported progress: RM91.9 billion of approved investment from January 2024 to March 2026 (The Edge, 16 Jul 2026) and 22,849 people trained by the third quarter of 2026 (NST, 21 Oct 2026). No figure has been published for how much of the RM25 billion has been spent.
- RM500bn
- Investment target by 2030 (MITI, 2024)
- RM91.9bn
- Approved, January 2024 to March 2026 (The Edge, 16 Jul 2026)
- 60,000 engineers
- Training target by 2030 (MITI, 2024)
- 22,849 trained
- By the third quarter of 2026 (NST, 21 Oct 2026)
- RM25bn
- Planned fiscal support, at least (MITI, 2024)
What are the three phases?
- Building on our foundations: move outsourced assembly and test towards advanced packaging, grow existing fabs, attract investment in mature chips, especially power chips, and develop local chip design companies.
- Moving to the frontier: design, fabrication and testing of leading-edge logic and memory chips, and attracting advanced chip makers.
- Innovating at the frontier: support Malaysian design, advanced packaging and equipment companies of world standard, and attract buyers of advanced chips.
The document attaches no dates to the phases (MITI, 2024). The trade ministry leads the strategy, and CREST is its secretariat.
How much progress has been reported?
| Target | Reported progress | What it counts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM500bn investment | More than RM63bn | Secured as of March 2025: RM58bn foreign, RM5bn domestic | (Malay Mail, 24 Jul 2025) |
| RM500bn investment | More than RM85bn | Approved as of December 2025 | (The Star, 2 Jul 2026) |
| RM500bn investment | RM91.9bn | Approved January 2024 to March 2026, a window that starts before the launch | (The Edge, 16 Jul 2026) |
| 60,000 engineers | 13,679 | Trained and deployed, May 2024 to November 2025 | (The Vibes, 17 Nov 2025) |
| 60,000 engineers | 18,062 | End of 2025 | (The Star, 2 Jul 2026) |
| 60,000 engineers | 22,849 | Trained by the third quarter of 2026; placement data not yet compiled | (NST, 21 Oct 2026) |
| 10 and 100 companies | At least 13 home-grown companies; 9 expected to pass RM500m revenue in 2025 | Government statement, July 2025 | (Malay Mail, 24 Jul 2025) |
The three investment figures use different windows and are approvals, not money spent.
What is the Arm agreement?
- US$250 million (RM1.11 billion) paid over ten years for chip design licences and compute subsystems, with training for 10,000 chip design engineers and Arm’s first ASEAN office in Kuala Lumpur (MIDA, 5 Mar 2025).
- Four access tokens were handed to three local firms, Great Asic, SkyeChip and Oppstar, on 11 May 2026 (The Star, 11 May 2026).
- By August 2026 eight packages had been awarded. The design phase runs to about 2028, with locally designed chips targeted for production by 2030 (NST, 21 Aug 2026).
Where are the chip design parks?
- Selangor: a first park in Puchong, launched August 2024, and a second in Cyberjaya, launched 6 November 2025 (Malay Mail, 6 Nov 2025). By April 2026 they had 302 engineers at 15 companies, against a target of 400 by the end of 2026 (EdgeProp, 4 May 2026).
- Penang: a RM120 million, five-year programme with a design park at Bayan Lepas, a chip design academy and an incubation space (InvestPenang, 28 Sep 2024). The incubation space is full with seven companies, and about 70,000 sq ft more is expected by early 2027 (EdgeProp, 28 Sep 2026).
- Startups: MyChipStart supports more than 20 chip design startups with RM17 million a year (The Star, 11 Apr 2026).
- Budget 2027: an expected RM1.2 billion of equity from two state-linked funds for local chip firms, and RM2 billion of financing guarantees for the sector in 2027 (The Star, 10 Oct 2026).
Has Malaysia designed its own chips?
- MARS1000: unveiled in August 2025 and described as Malaysia’s first locally designed edge AI processor, built on a 7-nanometre process and designed by SkyeChip. Where it is fabricated is not stated (The Star, 25 Aug 2025).
- SkyeChip: raised RM352 million at its listing on 20 May 2026, with RM211.5 million earmarked for research and development (The Star, 29 Apr 2026) (The Star, 21 May 2026).
- Arm-based chips: none has completed design; production is targeted for 2030 (NST, 21 Aug 2026).
What US tariffs apply to Malaysian chips?
- 15 January 2026: a 25% US duty on certain advanced computing chips under Section 232. It does not apply to chips imported for US data centres, repairs, research, startups or consumer and civil industrial uses (Thomson Reuters, 15 Jan 2026).
- 26 October 2025: the Malaysia–US trade agreement kept a 19% reciprocal tariff, with listed products at zero (The White House, 26 Oct 2025). A deputy minister told parliament the semiconductor sector was “not part of the deal”, with the US to give “due consideration” to it under Section 232 (The Star, 27 Oct 2025).
- 24 July 2026: a 10% US tariff on Malaysia under Section 301 (The Vibes, 24 Jul 2026). The agreement had not been ratified as of 27 July 2026 (Malay Mail, 27 Jul 2026).
- October 2026: the trade ministry said Malaysia receives exemptions from additional US tariffs on “most semiconductor and E&E products”. The legal basis was not stated (Malay Mail, 28 Oct 2026).
- Malaysia’s own permit rule for exporting AI chips is in the investor guide.
Conflicting figures
The document and later reports differ on these points.
| Point | One source | Another source |
|---|---|---|
| Targets and phases | Five targets listed separately from the phases (MITI, 2024) | Targets attached to Phases 1 and 2 (MIDA, 28 May 2024) |
| 100-company target | Revenue “nearing RM1 billion” (MITI, 2024) | “RM1 billion and above” in a table heading of the same document (MITI, 2024) |
| MyChipStart funding | RM1bn over 2025 to 2029 (MITI, 2024) | RM17m a year (The Star, 11 Apr 2026) |
| Arm training period | 10,000 engineers over ten years (MIDA, 5 Mar 2025) | Over four years (Malay Mail, 4 Sep 2026) |
| Chips under the US agreement | “Not part of the deal” (The Star, 27 Oct 2025) | Agreement “exempted semiconductors” (Malay Mail, 27 Jul 2026) |
What is not public
We could not confirm these from a published source as of 11 November 2026. Do not assume them:
- How much of the RM25 billion has been spent or disbursed
- Dates for the three phases
- Placement and retention of the people trained
- Whether chips are exempt from the 24 July 2026 tariff, in terms
- Whether the Malaysia–US agreement has been ratified since July 2026
- Where the MARS1000 is fabricated
Croutons Research publishes open data and methods on AI data centres in Malaysia. See the open method for measuring AI work per megawatt.
Sources
- The Star, three local firms get Arm access (11 May 2026)
- MITI, National Semiconductor Strategy document (2024)
- Malay Mail, Malaysia’s chip ambitions (4 Sep 2026)
- The Star, SkyeChip lists (21 May 2026)
- Malay Mail, exports to the US up 69% (28 Oct 2026)
- The Edge, RM91.9bn approved, January 2024 to March 2026 (16 Jul 2026)
- NST, 22,849 trained under the strategy by Q3 (21 Oct 2026)
- Malay Mail, RM63bn secured under the strategy to March 2025 (24 Jul 2025)
- The Star, strategy draws over RM85bn through end-2025 (2 Jul 2026)
- The Vibes, nearly 14,000 engineers trained (17 Nov 2025)
- MIDA, RM1.1bn partnership with Arm (5 Mar 2025)
- NST, Arm-based chip production targeted for 2030 (21 Aug 2026)
- Malay Mail, second IC design park and RM100m fund (6 Nov 2025)
- EdgeProp, IC design park on track for 400 engineers (4 May 2026)
- InvestPenang, Penang Silicon Design @5km+ (28 Sep 2024)
- EdgeProp, Penang silicon design space (28 Sep 2026)
- The Star, MyChipStart programme (11 Apr 2026)
- The Star, Budget 2027 semiconductor measures (10 Oct 2026)
- The Star, first local edge AI processor, MARS1000 (25 Aug 2025)
- The Star, SkyeChip IPO to raise RM352m (29 Apr 2026)
- Thomson Reuters, Section 232 tariffs on advanced chips (15 Jan 2026)
- The White House, joint statement on the Malaysia–US trade agreement (26 Oct 2025)
- The Star, trade pact and semiconductor tariffs (27 Oct 2025)
- The Vibes, 10% Section 301 tariff confirmed (24 Jul 2026)
- Malay Mail, explainer on the 10% tariff (27 Jul 2026)
- MIDA, RM25bn to operationalise the strategy (28 May 2024)
Last checked 11 November 2026