LG Electronics is reportedly considering Samsung Foundry to manufacture two new IoT chips intended for its future AI-powered home appliances. The potential deal would put the South Korean consumer-electronics rivals together in the semiconductor supply chain, although neither a production agreement nor a timeline has been confirmed.
The chips are being designed by CoAsia SEMI to LG’s specifications, according to South Korean media reports. CoAsia NEXELL is also expected to contribute to design and manufacturing-process optimization.
The project is part of South Korea’s K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development program. Its goal is to create extremely low-power systems-on-chip with always-on sensing capabilities, allowing devices to continuously monitor their surroundings without a major energy penalty.
The LG and CoAsia SEMI effort has a budget of about KRW 31 billion. LG does not operate its own semiconductor fabs and has typically used TSMC for chip production, including on some projects supported by the South Korean government.
More broadly, the government-backed program carries a budget of roughly KRW 800 billion and runs through July 2030. Hyundai Motor, Doosan Robotics, Daedong and Korea Aerospace Industries are among the other companies involved. For LG, the low-power chips are intended to reduce energy use and product costs while supporting its smart-home AI platform ambitions; whether Samsung Foundry ultimately wins the manufacturing work remains unresolved.
