After the signing of the contract, Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT (pictured on the left), and Park Sung-hyun, Co-founder and CEO of Rebellions, took a commemorative photo, promising ongoing collaboration for the merged entity.

SAPEON Korea, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company established by SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, “SKT”), and Rebellions Inc., a South Korean AI chip startup, announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement.

On June 12, both companies announced plans to merge, aiming to boost global AI infrastructure competitiveness. Since then, they have been mutually conducting due diligence and negotiating merger terms.

SAPEON Korea and Rebellions agreed upon a merger based on an equity value ratio of 1:2.4 between the two companies, reflecting their corporate values and assets. Post-merger, SAPEON Korea will be the surviving entity, with Rebellions’ current leadership managing the merged entity. The merged entity is expected to be launched within this year. The new company will retain the name ‘Rebellions’ and will be headed by Rebellions’ CEO Park Sung-hyun.

To secure Rebellions’ new management as the merged entity’s majority shareholders and ensure stability, SAPEON’s current shareholders — SK Telecom, SK Square and SK Hynix — will sell 3% of their SAPEON shares prior to the merger.

Following the merger, SKT will be a strategic investor, actively supporting the newly formed company’s expansion into the global AI semiconductor market and enhancing South Korea’s leadership in AI chip technology.

SAPEON Korea, an AI semiconductor company spun off from SK Telecom’s internal R&D organization in 2016, is at the forefront of high-performance AI semiconductor development. The company introduced South Korea’s first AI semiconductor for data centers in 2020 and launched the next-generation AI semiconductor ‘X330’ in November last year.

Rebellions is an AI chip startup founded in 2020. The company has successfully launched two AI chips within three years and has raised over $225 million in funding from investors worldwide. Rebellions began mass production of its AI chip ATOM this year and plans to launch its next-generation AI chip ‘REBEL’ by the end of this year.

With their combined development capabilities and expertise in the neural processing unit(NPU) market, the newly merged entity will be well-positioned to compete in the global AI semiconductor industry.

“Signing this agreement will greatly enhance our global position in AI semiconductors, one of the key parts of the AI value chain we’re developing,” said Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT. “We will continue to invest strategically and work together to become a leader in the AI era.”

“South Korea has long been a powerhouse in memory semiconductors. Today, we’re taking a crucial step to extend that leadership into the realms of logic chips and AI through this landmark consolidation,” said Park Sung-hyun, Co-founder and CEO of Rebellions, “Our goal now is to emerge as a leading force in the worldwide AI chip market, navigating the intense industry competition.”