Samsung Elec to make AI chips for Qraft from 5-nano processing

Samsung Electronics will employ its advanced 5-nanometer lithography process next year to deliver customized neural processing units (NPUs) also known as artificial intelligence (AI) chips for Qraft Technologies to enhance its robo advisory solutions.

According to sources on Wednesday, South Korea-based fintech startup Qraft Technologies, which runs 100 percent AI-powered exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange, recently placed an order for high-performance AI chips to Rebellions, a Korean fabless startup dedicated to AI chip design.

Qraft captured the attention of Wall Street with its timely exit from Tesla stocks in 2019 right before the dip when its AI program noticed market overheating.

Qraft’s four AI ETFs on the market give returns of 16.21-19.85 percent from the beginning of this year. The company is preparing to list another AI ETF tracking the Nasdaq soon. Qraft has automated all ETF operations, including data processing, strategy exploration, and order execution, with AI technology. But its system is known to rely on general-purpose GPUs, which means a limit to expanding its robo-advisor solution to meet customer needs. To tackle this problem, it decided to create a dedicated AI chip with Rebellions’ AI hardware technology, said Qraft CEO Kim Hyung-sik.

Rebellions is a startup with only one year in business, but it came into the limelight for its expertise in the design of NPU chips that beat CPU and GPU chips. It is also drawing industry attention for its high-profile management team led by CEO Park Sung-hyun, formerly a developer at Morgan Stanley and SpaceX after studying electronics and computer science at KAIST and MIT.

Rebellions is the first Korean fabless to design AI semiconductors using the most advanced process technology, and its chip features the world’s highest proven benchmark speed and energy efficiency, Park said. The synergy between Rebellions’ AI-focused hardware and Qraft's AI trading algorithms could dramatically accelerate AI-powered financial innovation, he added.

Their collaboration is expected to bear fruit as early as the end of next year with AI chips from Samsung Electronics foundry.

Samsung allegedly accepted the proposal from the two startups for production of their AI chips to be made at the 5-nm process node in consideration of the potential value of these startups despite the current shortages in the supply of system semiconductors to global customers.

Samsung and TSMC are the only foundry players that can make chips using the 5 nm process node, the industry's most advanced technology available for mass production.

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