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Penang, October 30, 2026 – Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Neural Semiconductor Inc., United States, officially opened its VLSI design centre at GBS@Mayang, Bayan Lepas, Penang on 26 October 2026. The company was incorporated in Malaysia on 12 January 2026, and the Penang centre is its first design operation in Southeast Asia.

The centre carries out integrated circuit design and development work in Penang, from architecture and RTL through to physical implementation on advanced process nodes. Recruitment is under way in Penang for physical design, design verification and design automation roles.

What The Penang Centre Does
Engineering at the centre spans the full ASIC and SoC design cycle — architecture and RTL design, AMS design, RFIC design, design verification, physical design, custom layout, design-for-test and design automation — on Cadence and Synopsys digital and custom flows. The centre takes design programmes end to end, owning the technical scope and sign-off criteria rather than contributing engineers to someone else’s flow, and carries them through to tape-out readiness and post-silicon support.

The company’s view of the market gap is straightforward: Malaysia’s design sector is growing faster than its experienced engineering base, and design work that could be done here is going overseas because the engineering capacity is not available locally.

Engineering Depth From Day One
The Penang operation is backed by Neural Semiconductor Limited, Dhaka — an affiliated company under common directorship — which has run production VLSI engineering for more than ten years on customer programmes in Europe, the United States, Japan and Korea. Malaysia is not the group’s first design operation, and the Penang centre begins with that engineering practice behind it rather than assembling it from scratch.

The centre is staffed by engineers employed directly by Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd., recruited in Malaysia and internationally, among them senior engineers who have relocated from Dhaka as direct employees of the Malaysian company. Their advanced-node production experience means the centre can take on advanced-node programmes from the outset rather than building that record over several years.

Building Local Capability
Neural Semiconductor is partnering with the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) and the Penang Chip Design Academy (PCDA) to take graduates from each training batch directly into live design projects, paired with experienced leads on advanced-node work from their first year.

Senior foreign engineers are assigned to transfer flow ownership to Malaysian engineers rather than being retained indefinitely, with local engineers named as successors as each programme matures.

Design work that would otherwise be done overseas is carried out and invoiced in Malaysia, with the resulting engineering wages and corporate activity contributing to the Malaysian tax base.

YB Jagdeep Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang, said, “The establishment of Neural Semiconductor’s VLSI design centre further strengthens Penang’s position as a growing IC design hub. Beyond expanding our design capabilities, the company’s commitment to nurturing local talent through knowledge transfer from its existing centres is particularly encouraging. This aligns with the objectives of PSD@5KM+ to develop a stronger pipeline of local IC design engineers, deepen our homegrown capabilities and position Penang to play a more meaningful role in the global semiconductor value chain.”

Mr. Mohammed A. Jabbar, Managing Director of Neural Semiconductor, said, “We believe the future of the semiconductor industry will be shaped not only by technology, but by the ability to build strong engineering ecosystems across borders. 

Our decision to establish Neural Semiconductor in Penang is driven by that belief. This is not simply an overseas expansion; it is a strategic diversification of our capabilities, markets and talent base. We want to bring our global VLSI experience to Malaysia, create meaningful opportunities for local engineers, and build a sustainable platform that can serve semiconductor companies across the region. 

Our vision is to grow Neural Semiconductor into a globally connected engineering organization—one that combines international experience with local talent, innovation with execution, and today’s capabilities with tomorrow’s opportunities. Penang is an important step in that journey.”

Mr. Terence Gaspar, Head of Country Operations of Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd., said, “InvestPenang was our first point of contact and helped set the right expectations from the start. MDEC in particular has guided us closely on structuring the Malaysian operation and on the Malaysia Digital process, and that has made a real difference to how we have set this up. TalentCorp and the MYXpats team have also been helpful on the expatriate side. We are committed to building local talent here, and that starts with the fresh graduate pool coming through Penang Chip Design Academy.

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About InvestPenang
InvestPenang is the Penang State Government’s principal agency for the promotion of investment. Its objectives are to develop and sustain Penang’s economy by enhancing and continuously supporting business activities in the State through foreign and local investments, including spawning viable new growth centers. To realise its objectives, InvestPenang also runs initiatives like the SMART Penang Center (providing assistance to SMEs), Penang CAT Center (for talent attraction and retention), Global Business Services (GBS) Focus Group (promoting and developing digital economy), Penang Silicon Design @5km+ (establishing a unique and interconnected ecosystem for IC design and technology enterprises), and Malaysia ATE Campus in Penang (accelerating the co‑development, qualification, and scaling of Malaysian ATE solutions by enabling first-customer deployment). For more information, please visit https://investpenang.gov.my/ and follow InvestPenang’s social media channels: Facebook; LinkedIn; WhatsApp Channel and TikTok.

About Neural Semiconductor
Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd. is an integrated circuit (IC) design company incorporated in Malaysia on 12 January 2026 and wholly owned by Neural Semiconductor Inc., United States. From its design centre at GBS@Mayang, Bayan Lepas, Penang, it designs and develops integrated circuits across the full ASIC and SoC cycle — architecture and RTL design, AMS design, RFIC design, design verification, physical design, custom layout, design-for-test and design automation — taking design programmes through to tape-out readiness. The company builds local design capability through partnerships with PSDC and the Penang Chip Design Academy. For more information, visit www.neural-semiconductor.com.

For media queries, please contact:
InvestPenang
Elaine Cheah / Nur Aliana Binti Azami
elaine@investpenang.gov.my / aliana@investpenang.gov.my
T: +604 646 8833

Neural Semiconductor
Terence Gaspar
Head of Country Operations, Neural Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd.
terence.gaspar@neural-semiconductor.com
T: +6012-513 9268