Consul-General Visits Silicon X Sdn. Bhd.
2026/9/17
On September 17th, Mr. Shinya Machida, Consul-General of Japan in Penang, visited Silicon X Sdn. Bhd. in Bayan Lepas, Penang, where he received a briefing from Mr. Ng Meng Wah, Managing Director, and representatives of InvestPenang on the company’s business activities, the development of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), which are semiconductor devices whose circuit configurations can be reprogrammed after manufacturing, and its future business plans.
Silicon X is an IC design and product company based at the Silicon Research & Incubation Space under the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative, which is promoted by the Penang State Government through InvestPenang. The company is engaged in the research, development and commercialisation of FPGAs and, in 2025, successfully developed and powered on Malaysia’s first home-grown FPGA chip. InvestPenang positions Silicon X as the first FPGA product company in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Mr. Ng explained the characteristics of FPGAs and their potential applications in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, automotive systems and industrial equipment, as well as the expected future growth of the Edge AI market, in which AI processing is performed locally on devices. He also explained Silicon X’s collaboration with Penang-based semiconductor design company Oppstar Berhad and Japan’s Tokyo Artisan Intelligence Inc. in developing semiconductors for Edge AI applications. Mr. Machida expressed his hope that corporate collaboration in the semiconductor and AI sectors would further develop by combining the respective strengths of Japan and Malaysia in technology, human resources and industrial capabilities.
The Consulate-General of Japan in Penang will continue to closely follow developments involving promising companies in Malaysia, particularly in Penang, as well as companies and industries being promoted by the Federal and State Governments, and will do its utmost to support further industrial cooperation between Japan and Malaysia.
Silicon X is an IC design and product company based at the Silicon Research & Incubation Space under the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative, which is promoted by the Penang State Government through InvestPenang. The company is engaged in the research, development and commercialisation of FPGAs and, in 2025, successfully developed and powered on Malaysia’s first home-grown FPGA chip. InvestPenang positions Silicon X as the first FPGA product company in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Mr. Ng explained the characteristics of FPGAs and their potential applications in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, automotive systems and industrial equipment, as well as the expected future growth of the Edge AI market, in which AI processing is performed locally on devices. He also explained Silicon X’s collaboration with Penang-based semiconductor design company Oppstar Berhad and Japan’s Tokyo Artisan Intelligence Inc. in developing semiconductors for Edge AI applications. Mr. Machida expressed his hope that corporate collaboration in the semiconductor and AI sectors would further develop by combining the respective strengths of Japan and Malaysia in technology, human resources and industrial capabilities.
The Consulate-General of Japan in Penang will continue to closely follow developments involving promising companies in Malaysia, particularly in Penang, as well as companies and industries being promoted by the Federal and State Governments, and will do its utmost to support further industrial cooperation between Japan and Malaysia.