Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Merck vows to expand investment in Korea to support AI chips
Anand Nambiar, executive vice president and head of the semiconductor material solutions and electronics business at Merck, speaks during a press conference at Shilla Stay Samsung hotel in southern Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Merck will actively support its Korean customers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are expanding their investment in AI memory chips to meet surging demand for AI semiconductors, the head of the German company’s electronics business said Friday.
"To support and enable our customers, the Korean market continues to be one of the most exciting parts of the industry, particularly with the AI applications coming online. The Korean customers are very well positioned and they've taken leadership, in particular, in the memory sector," Anand Nambiar, executive vice president and head of the semiconductor material solutions and electronics business at Merck, said during a press conference in Seoul. "So we're lockstep making sure that we are present with them to win in this marketplace."
He added that AI applications will use more memory chips in the future, and their strength is in memory chips.
“And of course that is because what we have today accounts for 18 percent of the global semiconductor market. But memory is close to 60 percent. Memory is a key element for AI applications. And we believe that AI on the edge is going to be the future,” the executive vice president said.
The executive visited the country to attend SEMICON Korea, an exhibition about the semiconductor industry, held this week in Seoul.
At this event, Nambiar gave a keynote speech in which he stated that a data platform through digital and data innovation can improve the quality of materials needed for semiconductor production and eliminate defects in the chip production process.
He also shared a case where by collecting and analyzing data from all chip-making processes on a single platform, they were able to eliminate defects in semiconductor materials and processes, which used to take several years, but now can happen in just a few months.
Merck has been continuously expanding its investment in Korea, a semiconductor powerhouse. In 2021, Merck announced a plan to invest 600 million euros ($653 million) in Korea by 2025.
So far, they have spent 300 million euros on acquiring the domestic thin-film materials company M Chemicals and expanding the OLED materials manufacturing facility in Pyeongtaek, and they plan to invest the remaining 300 million euros according to the plan.
WooKyu Kim, managing director of Merck Korea, speaks during a press conference at Shilla Stay Samsung hotel in southern Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
WooKyu Kim, managing director of Merck Korea, said, "Korea is the undisputed strongest country in memory. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been maintaining leadership in memory chips and this trend will continue."
"Our customers are continuously preparing research and production facilities in Korea to maintain leadership, and about 10 semiconductor mega chip factories are expected to be built here in the future," Kim said. "Merck considers the Korean market to be very important to support the leaders."