South Korean chip manufacturers Samsung and Rebellions plan on taking down NVIDIA

South Korean start-up Rebellions semiconductors and their AI chips represent the latest frontier in neural processing units (NPUs), tailored for AI models wielding up to 7 billion parameters.

As they undergo rigorous testing against industry titan NVIDIA’s A100 graphics processing units (GPUs), Rebellions aims to disrupt the AI chip landscape with its breakthrough technology.

At the heart of Rebellions’ innovation lies the Atom NPU, meticulously crafted to excel in simultaneous matrix operations, a critical advantage in the realm of deep learning AI methodologies.

Led by CEO and co-founder Park Sung-hyun, Rebellions has positioned itself as South Korea’s foremost contender to rival NVIDIA in AI inference — an integral process of real-time data analysis and prediction.

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Park revealed plans for Atom’s mass production leveraging Samsung Electronics’ cutting-edge 5-nanometer technology, marking a pivotal milestone for the South Korean chip industry. Atom’s distinction lies in being the first domestically developed, mass-produced chip tailored to support language models, further accentuating Rebellions’ prowess in AI innovation.

Park asserts that Atom outshines NVIDIA’s GPUs in AI inference, boasting up to five times greater energy efficiency. In a language model inference benchmark test, Atom’s latency was reported to be merely half that of NVIDIA’s A2, underscoring its superior performance metrics. Notably, Atom’s cooling requirements are significantly lower compared to NVIDIA’s chips, translating to reduced operational costs and energy consumption.

The burgeoning demand for AI chips has propelled South Korea into the spotlight as a key player in semiconductor innovation. Backed by industry giants such as Samsung, telecom behemoth KT, and internet powerhouse Kakao, Rebellions secured a staggering USD 124 million in funding, solidifying its status as the most-funded chip start-up in the country.

With KT slated to become Rebellions’ inaugural customer post-Atom’s mass production, Park envisions telecom companies as pivotal stakeholders in the AI chip ecosystem, emphasizing the industry’s shift towards infrastructure-driven innovation. Furthermore, Rebellions’ collaboration with Samsung underscores the country’s strides towards semiconductor dominance, as exemplified by the co-development of Rebel—a next-generation NPU targeting large language models.

As Rebellions sets its sights on global expansion, Park remains optimistic about the company’s trajectory, eyeing a significant market share in inference chips used for large language models. With the generative AI market on the ascent, Rebellions stands poised to carve out a niche in the fiercely competitive AI chip market, challenging NVIDIA’s dominance and heralding a new era of innovation in South Korea’s semiconductor landscape.

(With inputs from agencies)