Asicland to develop eSSD controller for SK hynix in 31.9 billion won deal

Asicland, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design solutions company, will join SK hynix's next-generation enterprise SSD (eSSD) controller development project, the company announced Sunday. The collaboration marks a partnership between a major domestic memory chip maker and a system semiconductor design specialist, amid surging demand for high-performance storage driven by the expansion of AI data centers.

Asicland disclosed Sunday that it has signed a custom design service and tape-out support contract with SK hynix for the development of a next-generation eSSD controller. The contract is valued at approximately 31.9 billion won ($20.7 million) and runs from May 27, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027.

An eSSD controller is a core semiconductor that governs data flow between servers and storage devices. As large-scale data processing for AI training and inference, cloud computing, and high-performance computing (HPC) continues to grow, the component has become a critical determinant of processing speed, stability, and power efficiency in data center storage systems.

Under the contract, Asicland will provide ASIC design and verification capabilities based on TSMC's advanced process technology throughout SK hynix's next-generation product development. Asicland is South Korea's only TSMC Value Chain Alliance (VCA) partner.

Asicland plans to use the project as an opportunity to expand its business scope beyond its existing focus on design and verification into pre-commercialization stages and tape-out support. Tape-out refers to the step in which finalized semiconductor design data is handed off to the manufacturing process — a critical milestone before mass production.

"It is meaningful to participate in SK hynix's next-generation eSSD development project as the company leads the AI era," Asicland CEO Lee Jong-min said. "Drawing on our experience in TSMC advanced-process design and our verification capabilities, we will ensure our customer's next-generation product development proceeds on a stable footing."