Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

• Reinforces leadership as a trusted partner in specialized SoC design
• Diversifies the ASIC portfolio with highly complex private computing solutions

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMIFIVE, a leading global provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) solutions, announced today that it has secured a design win from Niobium, a U.S.-based leader in Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) hardware acceleration platforms. This partnership represents a strategic milestone in SEMIFIVE's expansion in the U.S. market.

The contract, valued at around KRW 10 billion (USD 6.86 million), covers the development of Niobium's high-performance FHE hardware accelerator. It is expected to become one of the world's first commercially viable FHE accelerators, enabling encrypted computation at speeds practical for real-world cloud and AI infrastructure.

FHE is widely recognized as one of the most complex domains in encrypted computing, as it allows computation directly on encrypted data. This capability is becoming increasingly critical for privacy-centric workloads, private cloud services, and next-generation data protection architectures, including Zero Trust computing environments and private AI. Niobium's dedicated accelerator is designed to deliver high-performance processing while offering significant advantages over software-based encryption approaches.

The chip will be developed using Samsung Foundry's 8nm Low Power Ultimate (8LPU) process technology. SEMIFIVE's end-to-end ASIC solution empowers Niobium to accelerate the commercialization of its FHE accelerator through tailored turnkey services. These services encompass design, packaging, and testing, all supported by streamlined supply chain management. Building on this achievement, SEMIFIVE will continue to strengthen its role as a trusted and pivotal design partner for global innovators across the advanced ASIC sector.

"Encrypted computation will become inevitable," said Kevin Yoder, CEO of Niobium. "Once enterprises can compute directly on encrypted data at fast enough speeds, processing sensitive information in the clear will no longer be acceptable. With SEMIFIVE and Samsung Foundry, we're translating years of R&D into production-ready silicon for encrypted cloud and AI environments. This represents the next step in our transition from prototype systems to accelerators suitable for customer deployments."

"Niobium is at the forefront of encrypted computation, and their FHE accelerator platform represents one of the most important emerging architectures in privacy-first computing," said Brandon Cho, CEO and co-founder of SEMIFIVE. "We are pleased to support Niobium in translating this cutting-edge FHE innovation into manufacturable silicon through SEMIFIVE's proven SoC development and platform execution. This collaboration will set a new benchmark for technical excellence in advanced ASIC development."

"Encrypted computation will play an increasingly critical role in the future of AI and cloud systems," said Taejoong Song, vice president and head of Foundry Technology Planning at Samsung Electronics. "Through Samsung Foundry's advanced process technology and SAFE™ ecosystem of partners, we are proud to support SEMIFIVE and Niobium as they bring next-generation private computing silicon to global markets."

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Media Contact:  robin.kim@semifive.com

About SEMIFIVE

SEMIFIVE Inc. (KOSDAQ: 490470) is a pioneer of platform based SoC design, working with customers to implement innovative ideas into custom silicon in the most efficient way. Our SoC platforms offer a powerful springboard for new chip designs and leverage configurable domain-specific architectures and pre-validated key IP pools. We offer comprehensive spec-to-system capabilities with end-to-end solutions so that custom SoCs can be realized faster, with reduced cost and risks for key applications such as data center or AI-enabled IoT. With a strong partnership with Samsung Foundry as a leading SAFE^TM DSP partner, as well as the larger ecosystem, SEMIFIVE provides a one-stop shop solution for any SoC design needs. For more information, please visit www.semifive.com.

About Niobium

Niobium is building the first dedicated hardware platform designed to advance fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) into commercial applications. FHE keeps data encrypted even during computation, mathematically guaranteeing privacy. Niobium is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with offices in Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. More information is available at niobiummicro.com.

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SOURCE SEMIFIVE

• Accelerating commercialization by combining SEMIFIVE's AI SoC platform with SAPIEN's micro-LED display driver design expertise
• Strengthening the micro-display value chain through comprehensive collaboration from design to verification
• Expanding into the AI wearable market, including smart glasses and XR•AR devices

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMIFIVE, a leading global provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) design solutions, announced today that it has signed a strategic MOU with SAPIEN Semiconductors, a company specializing in advanced micro-LED display driver ASICs.

SEMIFIVE and SAPIEN Semiconductors will advance the design and technical evaluation of CMOS backplane technology, which is a core component of micro-displays. This partnership covers both technology and business aspects, including design verification and simulation to enhance technical maturity, technical guidance on Micro-LED Display Driver IC (DDI) implementation, and joint strategies for global market expansion.

This strategic agreement comes at a pivotal moment, as global Big Tech companies identify AI smart glasses as the "next smartphone" and accelerate investments in the AI wearable market. With rising demand for micro-displays that provide ultra-high resolution, low power consumption, and compact form factors, the two companies aim to deliver optimized solutions by integrating their expertise to lead this growing market.

SEMIFIVE will drive overall chip development through its advanced AI SoC design platform and turnkey development capabilities, covering the entire process from design to mass production. SAPIEN Semiconductors will provide its proprietary technology and specialized expertise in micro-LED display driver design to develop optimized CMOS backplanes. By leveraging their complementary strengths, they plan to quickly meet market demands and accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies.

"By combining SAPIEN Semiconductors' expertise in micro-display driver design with SEMIFIVE's custom ASIC capabilities, we will optimize the next-era display value chain and drastically reduce time-to-market," said Brandon Cho, CEO and co-founder of SEMIFIVE. "Through this synergy, we aim to redefine standards in the wearable market and jointly secure a dominant position in the global display industry."

"As the commercialization of AI wearables accelerates worldwide, this strategic partnership with SEMIFIVE is a key driver for staying ahead of market needs," said Myunghee Lee, CEO of SAPIEN Semiconductors. "We are committed to establishing a solid technical edge in the future display market by successfully delivering differentiated CMOS backplane solutions."

SEMIFIVE

Founded in 2019, SEMIFIVE is a global provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) platforms. The company provides proprietary SoC design platforms and end-to-end solutions that enable customers to rapidly transform innovative ideas into custom silicon. Through these capabilities, SEMIFIVE is driving the expansion of the global custom semiconductor ecosystem. For more information, please visit www.semifive.com.

SAPIEN Semiconductors

Founded in 2017, SAPIEN Semiconductors is a fabless design company specializing in micro-LED display driver ASICs. The company focuses on designing and commercializing CMOS backplane products. SAPIEN Semiconductors serves the global market by providing high-performance display driver solutions tailored for both large format display panels and micro displays. For more information, please visit www.sapien-semicon.com.

Micro display

A micro display refers to an ultra-high-resolution display that achieves pixel densities of several thousand Pixels Per Inch (PPI) within a compact area of one inch or less. It is widely regarded as a key technology for enabling next-generation XR (VR, AR, and MR) environments.

CMOS Backplane

A CMOS backplane is a micro-LED-optimized driver chip that is essential for wearable devices such as AI smart glasses and AR glasses. With high integration density and extremely low power consumption, CMOS backplanes are widely used in wearable devices, portable calculators, digital watches, and compact computing devices. The backplane is a semiconductor layer beneath each light-emitting element of a display, such as liquid crystal, OLED, and LED, and electrically drives individual pixels to enable light emission and image formation.

CMOS

CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, a semiconductor technology based on complementary pairs of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).

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SOURCE SEMIFIVE