On Friday, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd said that it had made investments in US artificial intelligence company Syntiant Corp. and Malaysia-based private equity firm Cambrian Fund.
According to a statement from Khazanah, the company has announced two strategic investments through its initial MYR 1 billion ($220 million) allocation through Dana Impak. These investments aim to increase research and development (R&D) in semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as well as to drive greater growth and innovation in Malaysia’s Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) technologies and capacity development.
By investing in the Cambrian Fund, Khazanah announced its collaboration with the co-founders of Southern Capital Group, a regional private equity firm that focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and Vitrox Corporation Berhad, a Malaysian automated inspection equipment and solutions company.
The Cambrian Fund is committed to helping SMEs and entrepreneurs who are interested in IR4.0 technologies including robots, AI, and machine vision.
By opening up development prospects, encouraging increased local involvement, and assisting creative entrepreneurs and SMEs in scaling and competing regionally, the fund will contribute to the transformation of the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing ecosystem in Malaysia and beyond.
Simultaneously, the fund seeks to leverage the experience and work with prominent figures in Malaysian business to offer priceless knowledge, networks, and mentorship to assist Cambrian Fund’s investments.
One of the anchor investors in the Cambrian Fund, Khazanah, helped it reach its initial closure of MYR 100 million ($22.34 million).
Khazanah also announced an investment in Irvine, California-based Syntiant, an edge AI firm, to further bolster the Malaysian semiconductor ecosystem.
The company is known throughout the world as a pioneer in offering cutting-edge software and hardware solutions for edge AI implementation.
From earphones to cars, Syntiant’s custom silicon and machine learning models are used worldwide in a variety of consumer and commercial applications.
One of the main strategic advantages of Khazanah’s investment is its dedication to building a top-tier AI research and development facility in Malaysia.
The center will promote technical innovation and growth, supporting Malaysia’s aspirations to advance along the semiconductor value chain and take part in the expanding global artificial intelligence sector.
Syntiant will use the money raised from its fundraising campaign to buy all of Knowles Corporation’s (Knowles) consumer MEMS microphones (CMM) division, which has sizable assembly and testing facilities in Malaysia, in collaboration with Khazanah and a number of top technology investors.
High performance SiSonicTM micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, which are crucial for voice and audio in smartphones, smart speakers, wearable technology, and other applications in home and automotive appliances, are manufactured by Knowles’ CMM division, a major manufacturer.
