Rebellions and SAPEON Korea Complete Merger, Launching Korea’s First AI Chip Unicorn

• Strategic merger positions merged entity to drive worldwide growth and innovation leadership

[Seoul, December 2, 2024] Rebellions has officially merged with SAPEON Korea to form Korea’s first AI chip unicorn under the unified name “Rebellions”. The merger, finalized in almost six months following its June announcement, marks a historic milestone for Korea’s AI chip industry.

Strategic Vision: A Unified AI Powerhouse

The merger comes at a pivotal moment as AI infrastructure is recognized as a critical strategic and national security asset. By combining resources, talent, and partnerships, Rebellions is now positioned as Korea’s largest AI chip startup, ready to compete on a global scale.

Leading the new entity is CEO Sunghyun Park, an expert in AI and system semiconductors with a Ph.D. from MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab (CSAIL). With experience spanning Intel, Space X, and Morgan Stanley, Park’s leadership positions the merged entity to go beyond being Korea’s top AI chip company, aiming to set a global benchmark in innovation and success.

Synergies for Global Expansion and Innovation

Backed by strategic investors like SK Telecom and SK hynix, the company is accelerating its cross-border expansion. Rebellions plans to collaborate with SK Telecom to expand into the global AI data center market. Building on this partnership, the company aims to achieve tangible results in international markets, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.

The merger unites top-tier talent from both companies to boost efficiency and speed in achieving an ambitious technology roadmap. Rebellions will leverage its advanced chiplet technology, featured in its next-generation AI chip, REBEL, to accelerate time-to-market and meet the demands of rapidly evolving AI applications. Furthermore, the company is strengthening its leadership in the PyTorch ecosystem, making it easier for developers to build and deploy AI services with greater efficiency.

Focused on Building a Unified Team

In the coming months, the company will prioritize post-merger integration, combining the agility of a startup with the robust systems of a larger organization. By fostering collaboration across teams, the company seeks to swiftly respond to market changes and identify new growth opportunities.

“As the global AI chip market undergoes dramatic shifts, collaboration across industries has become the foundation for success,” said Sunghyun Park, CEO of the newly merged Rebellions. “This merger combines deep expertise from Korea’s telecom, government, and semiconductor sectors, not only driving innovation but also establishing Korea’s leadership in the worldwide AI landscape.”

About Rebellions Rebellions builds energy-efficient AI accelerators optimized for Generative AI workloads. The company’s first AI chip, ATOM, launched in 2023 for data center deployment, and its next-generation chip REBEL features a scalable chiplet architecture with 144GB HBM3e memory for Large Language Models and Multi-Modal Models. Founded in 2020, Rebellions is supported by a group of international investors, including Wa’ed Ventures (Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm), Korea Telecom (KT), and Pavilion Capital. SK Group companies (SK Telecom, SK hynix, SK Square) have also joined as strategic investors, strengthening Rebellions’ position in the AI chip market.

For more information: https://rebellions.ai