Semiconductor design and architecture expertise grounded in industry experience

CEO Hanwool Jeong has hands-on experience across both the Korean semiconductor industry and academia, with the practical network and management capabilities required to execute AI accelerator and memory-based IP businesses. From 2017 to 2019, he worked at Samsung Electronics on memory circuit design and design automation, gaining experience in mass-production design environments, process integration, and verification, while building strong working networks across Samsung Foundry, Memory, and System LSI divisions.

Academic network and research foundation in NPU and PIM

While serving as an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Kwangwoon University and Yonsei University, he established collaborative research and talent exchange networks with Korea's leading semiconductor research institutions, including Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University, Kwangwoon University, Seoul National University, KAIST, POSTECH, and UNIST. He has continuously conducted research in AI semiconductors, NPU architecture, and SRAM-based PIM, while actively participating in industry–academia collaboration networks through memberships in the Korea Fabless Industry Association, Korea Industrial Technology Association, The Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers, and the Korean Institute of Semiconductor Engineers.

Immediate post-founding IP sales and fabless/design house network

Immediately after founding the company, he generated SRAM IP sales with DB HiTek and continued securing additional IP contracts thereafter, demonstrating proven IP commercialization capability, including KRW 1.4 billion in contracts in 2025. He also maintains networks that enable technical exchange and collaboration discussions with major domestic specialized companies, including SK keyfoundry, Telechips, Hanwha Vision, ABOV Semiconductor, Nextchip, Gaonchips, SemiFive, ASICLAND, OpenEdge, DEEPX, Mobilint, and ADT. Through connections with design houses within Samsung Foundry's design support ecosystem, he has strong potential to expand NPU- and PIM-based IP business opportunities.

Technical achievements supporting NPU and PIM specialization

Through AI–semiconductor convergence research, he has secured approximately KRW 10 billion in research funding. He has filed more than 30 domestic and international patents, registered more than 40 patents, and published over 40 papers in top-tier journals such as IEEE JSSC, TCAS, and TVLSI, demonstrating deep technical expertise across memory circuits, computing architectures, and system design. Based on these achievements, he has also collaborated with Samsung Electronics on startup-item-based projects.

Management capability demonstrated through fundraising and organizational build-out

He has raised a cumulative KRW 3.3 billion in investment and rapidly built an organization of more than 30 employees. He has stably operated a specialized semiconductor IP organization covering circuit design, RTL, SDK, design automation, and commercialization.

Awards and track record in strengthening commercialization capability

Under his leadership, ARTICRON Co., Ltd. received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award in the Startup Division at the 2024 Challenge! K-Startup Grand Finale, an official national-level recognition of its technological excellence and commercialization potential. In addition, immediately after founding the company in 2023, he completed training in startup legal affairs, accounting and finance, marketing and sales, and business model development, systematically transitioning from a technology-focused researcher to a commercialization-oriented business leader.

IP expansion channels and global market entry plans

Based on the success of its collaboration with DB HiTek, the company has secured channels for IP expansion to Samsung Foundry, Hanwha Vision, and SK keyfoundry. At the same time, it is pursuing IP marketing for the Chinese market and is in the process of establishing a local subsidiary in China.