The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2024, with the Rebellions team leading the management of the business. All employees from both companies will join the new entity. Major stakeholders in the merged entity will include SK Telecom, KT, and SK Hynix. It remains unclear whether Rebellions will continue its partnership with Samsung Electronics after the merger. The announcement comes after Rebellions raised a $124 million Series B, and Sapeon raised more than $45 million in a Series A.
Key takeaways:
- South Korean fabless AI chip startups, Rebellions and Sapeon, have agreed to merge in a strategic move to lead the fabless AI chip market in South Korea and compete with global rivals like Nvidia.
- The merged entity could go public in the next two to three years, and they see this period as a “golden time” for South Korea to win the global AI chip market.
- Rebellions and Sapeon plan to strengthen their neural processing units (NPU) business after the merger due to the rapidly increasing demand for NPUs.
- The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2024, with the Rebellion team leading the management of the business and all employees of both companies joining the new entity.