The anticipation surrounding the market value of Korea’s domestic AI processor manufacturers is on the rise as Rebellions, a leading Neural Processing Unit (NPU) maker, announced a merger with rival processor maker Sapeon Korea. The announcement by SK Telecom, the largest shareholder of Sapeon Korea, comes just two months after the merger plan was proposed, indicating a swift move to consolidate forces in the competitive AI market.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, 2.4 Rebellions shares will be exchanged for 1 Sapeon Korea share, valuing the merged entity at 1.14 trillion won ($851.2 million). This figure, however, is just the starting point, as brokerages have placed Rebellions’ post-IPO worth between 2 to 3 trillion won, with industry experts suggesting it could soar to 4 trillion won.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Park Sung-hyun and CTO Oh Jin-wook, both with impressive credentials from Intel, Samsung, Space X, and IBM, Rebellions is a fabless AI semiconductor company specializing in NPUs. These chips are designed to run AI tasks more efficiently than the current mainstream processors, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), particularly excelling in deep learning and neural network processing.

Since its establishment, Rebellions has launched two products, with its second product, ATOM, entering mass production this year. The company is now developing REBEL, its next-generation model, which is expected to further enhance its competitive edge in the market.

The merger is set to bring together major global investors and Korea’s two largest telecom companies, SK Telecom and KT, who are also major investors in the merged firm. Rebellions is reportedly in talks with several global data center companies, aiming to supply its products within this year. Notably, IBM has been testing Rebellions’ ATOM since September last year, and KT has already selected Rebellions as a partner for its data center projects.

SK Telecom is redirecting its focus towards AI services and is optimistic about Rebellions' involvement in several AI projects the company is pursuing. This merger is seen as a strategic move to strengthen the company's position in the global AI market.

In a related development, another Korean AI accelerator chip company, FuriosaAI, is also attracting investor attention with its IPO bid. The company, led by CEO June Paik and established in 2017, has selected Mirae Asset Securities as its lead manager and is engaging with financial investors. FuriosaAI's flagship product, WARBOY, a high-performance data center accelerator, has already been selected by ASUS for its servers, offering an alternative to Intel or Nvidia products.

FuriosaAI is planning to showcase its next-generation AI chip, Renegade (RNGD), at an upcoming AI Hardware & Edge Summit, with expectations of a stock market debut in the second half of next year. The company's investors include Korea Development Bank, Naver, and DSC Investment, among others.

The Korean AI processor market is gearing up for a significant shift, with these mergers and IPOs indicating a move towards global competitiveness in the AI industry. As these companies continue to innovate and secure partnerships, they are set to challenge established giants and redefine the landscape of AI chipset manufacturing.