We had a great pleasure interviewing Sanghyun Kim, CEO of Chips&Media, Inc.
Tell me a bit about your background. How did you first get started with Chips&Media?
After graduating from the university and graduate school in the United States, I started as an engineer at a telecommunication company. Then, I worked on strategy planning/sales/purchasing at a cell phone company.
With these work experiences, I joined Chips&Media as an early member. I also took charge of an IP Division Manager and have been CEO since 2008.
Tell me more about Chips&Media
Chips&Media is a hardware video IP company based in South Korea. Since 2003, we have been providing various high-efficiency video and image codec IPs for SoC. Video codec is an essential function that can be embedded in automobiles, mobile phones, surveillance, and other consumer products to encode and decode video content.
We have great enthusiasm for technology, which is represented by a large portion of investment in R&D. With over 70% of employees included in R&D, we aim to develop new IPs according to customers’ demands and video codec trends.
As a result of this passion, we maintain quite a significant position in the video codec industry. We will establish ourselves as a leader, especially with AV1 and, hopefully, with the VVC codec IPs in the near future.
What is a typical customer for Chips&Media?
Our business model consists of licenses and royalties from the customers who implement Chips&Media video IPs into their SoCs. We have more than 150 licensees worldwide, including top-tier global semiconductor manufacturers such as NXP. We have constructed good partnerships with many customers around the world, including in the U.S., China, Japan, and Taiwan. Some of these customers show their trust in our products by signing one contract after another.
What are the products of Chips&Media?
Our video codec hardware IP called the “WAVE” series supports various media formats with competitive PPA (power, performance, area). WAVE codecs support AV1, HEVC, AVC, VP9, AVS2, and other legacy codec standards with resolutions up to 4K@120fps and 8K@60fps in real-time. They offer higher encoding quality, higher resolution, lower power consumption, and lower latency.
Our portfolio also includes an image signaling processor (ISP) that supports pre-/post-processing and image processing, such as RGP interpolation and color enhancement. It is provided through a third party in alliance with C&M.
Which market segment seems promising to you? And why?
During the pandemic period, the fourth industrial revolution has come close to our lives. This has led to video codec technology spreading rapidly with increasing demand for data centers, video conferences, autonomous guided vehicles, and the metaverse.
An increase in sales of these products and services allows C&M to expect a better opportunity for video codec IP licenses. Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining more attention, and ChatGPT is a good example. To make competitive AI products, they require SoC with high performance and high capacity, and this is when Chips&Media comes in.
In addition to video codecs, we are currently developing NPU super-resolution IP. With a dedicated architecture based on deep learning algorithms and neural networks, it is expected to attract potential customers with an interest in AI.
What do you expect to be the following year’s objective?
We aim to have steady growth and new customers by expanding the business area. Ultimately, the objective is to fortify our dominance in the industry.
Are you currently hiring? What type of jobs?
We are hiring for a variety of positions, including engineers of HW, FW, algorithm, and sales manager for the expanding business worldwide. Chips&Media hires employees through several steps with precise tests and interviews. Opportunities to join us are always open for everyone!
How is the work environment of Chips&Media?
“The best is yet to come.”
We value self-discipline in a flexible work environment and professionalism. We provide benefits and improvements for our employees to have fun as well as focus on their work. For example, we offer a mortgage loan without interest, a yearly medical checkup, free dinner nights, and much more.
Where can one find more information?
Visit our website www.chipsnmedia.com for company and product information.
