SemiAI
SemiAI builds SMILE, an agentic AI platform for semiconductor fabs that combines LLM-based multimodal reasoning, causal-RAG, and a 160M+ wafer synthetic database to compress yield analysis from days to minutes for memory and logic manufacturers at advanced nodes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SemiAI does
SemiAI (SemiAI, Co., Ltd.) is a South Korea-based deep-tech startup that builds SMILE (Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence), an agentic AI platform for yield optimization and process control in semiconductor fabrication. Founded in late 2024 by Taekwon Jee, a UC Berkeley Ph.D. with 15+ years of process engineering experience across SK hynix, ASML, Samsung, and Lam Research, the company targets advanced-node memory and logic fabs where process complexity and metrology cost have outpaced manual analysis capacity. The platform addresses the gap between conventional Advanced Process Control (APC) and modern AI capabilities by combining LLM-based reasoning, computer vision, causal inference, and synthetic data generation into a single modular stack, with the company reporting that yield-analysis cycles compress from 7+ days to under 10 minutes once SMILE is deployed.
SemiAI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SemiAI
- Legal name
- SemiAI, Co.,Ltd.
- Website
- https://semiai.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SemiAI builds SMILE, an agentic AI platform for semiconductor fabs that combines LLM-based multimodal reasoning, causal-RAG, and a 160M+ wafer synthetic database to compress yield analysis from days to minutes for memory and logic manufacturers at advanced nodes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SemiAI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence Software
- NAICS
- Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Factory Automation & Control Systems (PLC/SCADA/DCS) (IMAIAMAA), Model Transparency, Explainability & Interpretability (XAI) (HDAAAMAB)
Keywords
Where SemiAI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seoul
- HQ country
- South Korea
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
SemiAI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SMILE Software Platform Subscription: Annual subscription model for SMILE On-Premise deployment inside fab network. Usage-based billing option available for cloud deployments. Revenue generated from software licenses with separate onboarding service packages.
- Professional Services: PoC Sprint, Integration & Rollout, and Operations Support service packages. PoC Sprint runs 6-12 weeks for focused validation. Integration & Rollout spans 3-6 months for scaling across production lines. Annual Operations Support includes dedicated ML engineer and quarterly retraining.
- Cloud Deployment (Usage-based): AWS-managed SMILE cloud deployment with usage-based billing option. Privacy-preserving data pipeline with automatic model update delivery. Best suited for PoC, early adoption, and research partnerships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Cloud deployment - AWS-managed SMILE for PoC and early adoption |
| Subscription | Annual | On-Premise deployment - Fully inside fab network |
| Other | Multi-year contract | PoC Sprint service package |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Integration & Rollout service package |
| Subscription | Annual | Operations Support annual package |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
SemiAI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SemiAI builds SMILE (Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence), an agentic AI platform for semiconductor fabs that combines digital twin technology, LLMs, and multimodal reasoning to analyze process data in real time. The platform delivers yield analysis, defect detection, root cause analysis, and predictive process control, compressing yield analysis cycles from over 7 days to under 10 minutes.
Product overview
SemiAI offers SMILE, a modular AI platform spanning analysis, prediction, and real-time control for semiconductor manufacturing. The platform follows a tiered product structure with three main SKUs: SMILE Lite (unified workbench with BI, sampling, and modeling), SMILE Pro (adds real-time detection and LLM-powered multimodal reasoning), and SMILE Pro+ (adds autonomous analysis modes with end-to-end RCA automation). Built on nine integrated solutions: PRISM (real-time prediction), INFER (causal root cause analysis), Virtual Fab (synthetic data infrastructure), Semi-Brain (multimodal inference), Business Intelligence Suite (domain-native analytics), Sampling Optimizer (metrology optimization), Defect Model Simulator (recipe validation), Semi-Vision (SEM measurement alignment), and EPE Budget (yield prioritization). All tiers operate on a human-in-the-loop protocol with AI recommending and engineers deciding.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SMILE: Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence - AI-powered software platform for semiconductor yield improvement, defect prediction, and process optimization.
Products and services
- SMILE Platform Modular AI platform spanning analysis, prediction, and real-time control for semiconductor manufacturing, combining nine integrated solutions for yield optimization and root cause analysis. Sold to enterprise semiconductor fabs.
- SMILE Lite Unified analysis workbench combining BI dashboards, sampling optimization, and multi-stage overlay correction modeling. Entry tier for HVM decision acceleration at semiconductor fabs.
- SMILE Pro Mid-tier SKU adding real-time detection and multimodal reasoning to SMILE Lite. Includes LLM-powered chart interpretation, recommended next charts, and conversational SemiAI Assistant for analysis at fabs.
- SMILE Pro+
Quantifiable outcome
- 15%+ process defect rate reduction
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use SemiAI
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
SemiAI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability13 records
Feature9 records
SemiAI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Auros TechnologycoreMOU signed for equipment intelligence covering overlay metrology and joint package sales of SMILE solution. First partner collaboration launched June 2025.
- University of SeoulcoreIndustry partner in five-year national project for semiconductor core IP design talent training. Part of KRW 33.6B initiative under MOTIE/KIAT. Co-running demand-driven industry-academia projects.
- Silicon MitusminorPartner company in University of Seoul's semiconductor core IP design talent program, collaborating on analog/mixed-signal and PMIC curriculum.
- WavepiaminorPartner company in University of Seoul's semiconductor core IP design talent program for power & energy-conversion circuit design.
- CosineonminorPartner company in University of Seoul's semiconductor core IP design talent program.
- Obang TechnologyminorPartner company in University of Seoul's semiconductor core IP design talent program.
- Williamson County Economic Development PartnershipcoreLOI signed February 2026 for North American expansion. Discussed Texas semiconductor cluster connectivity, investment incentives, tax relief, and connections to local financial institutions. Invited to participate in SelectUSA Spinoff site-visit program.
- Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and InnovationcoreSelected for 2nd cohort of 2026 U.S. Portland Expansion Program. Partnership with Silicon Forest semiconductor industry consortium strengthens public-private cooperation for US market entry.
- Business OregonminorOregon's state economic development agency partnering in Portland Expansion Program for Korean semiconductor startups.
- Greater Portland Inc.minorEconomic promotion body partnering in Portland Expansion Program with local office space, expert consulting, and customized business meetups.
- Silicon Forest PartnershipminorIndustry consortium of local semiconductor companies in Portland region (Intel, Lam Research, Analog Devices) partnering in expansion program.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights8 records
SemiAI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- KLA Corporation: Global leader in semiconductor process control, inspection, and metrology, including yield management software; the dominant established vendor in SemiAI's core market, with the installed base, data, and bundled software SemiAI must integrate against.
- Applied Materials: Largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer with broad process control and AI-enabled software programs across memory and logic fabs; relevant as both a potential competitor and a channel through which SMILE could be deployed.
- Onto Innovation: Supplier of optical metrology and yield inspection systems for semiconductor fabs; overlaps with SemiAI on measurement-driven yield improvement and process control.
- Lam Research: Major semiconductor equipment OEM whose corporate venture arm (Lam Capital) selected SemiAI as a 2026 global finalist; relevant as both a strategic investor/partner and a broad incumbent with overlapping fab analytics software initiatives.
Emerging players
- SparkCognition: Industrial AI vendor offering ML-based process optimization, anomaly detection, and asset reliability tools for manufacturing customers; comparable as an agentic AI platform for industrial process improvement.
- proteanTecs: AI-driven chip production monitoring and analytics vendor offering ML-based telemetry and yield insights for advanced semiconductor manufacturing; comparable use-case overlap with SMILE's process-monitoring layer.
- Nanotronics: AI-augmented inspection and process control platform for advanced manufacturing including semiconductor fabs; comparable as a smaller, AI-first vendor targeting similar fab yield and defect workflows.
Direct peers
- MakinaRocks: Korean AI/ML startup focused on industrial and manufacturing analytics; peer in the 2026 Portland Silicon Forest Korean startup cohort alongside SemiAI and a comparable Korea-to-US manufacturing AI expansion play.
- PDF Solutions: PDF Solutions provides semiconductor yield management, electrical test, and analytics software to memory and logic fabs, directly competing with SemiAI's SMILE platform on root-cause and yield improvement workflows.
- Landing AI: Landing AI builds computer-vision and agentic AI platforms for industrial and manufacturing customers; comparable as a vendor bringing LLM/vision AI to fabs and process plants.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SemiAI social profiles
Digital presenceSemiAI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SemiAI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
SemiAI subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SemiAI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SemiAI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SemiAI
What does SemiAI do?
SemiAI builds SMILE (Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence), an agentic AI platform for semiconductor fabs that combines digital twin technology, LLMs, and multimodal reasoning to analyze process data in real time. The platform delivers yield analysis, defect detection, root cause analysis, and predictive process control, compressing yield analysis cycles from over 7 days to under 10 minutes.
Is SemiAI a public or private company?
SemiAI is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SemiAI founded?
SemiAI was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SemiAI based?
SemiAI is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, in the Asia region.
How does SemiAI make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SMILE Software Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are professional Services and cloud Deployment (Usage-based).
Who are SemiAI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are KLA Corporation, Applied Materials, Onto Innovation and Lam Research. Emerging players are SparkCognition, proteanTecs and Nanotronics. Direct peers are MakinaRocks, PDF Solutions and Landing AI.
Does SemiAI have an API?
No public API is recorded for SemiAI.
What industry is SemiAI in?
SemiAI's product category is Semiconductor Manufacturing Intelligence Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAHAJ, Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian), with a secondary code of IMAIAMAA, Factory Automation & Control Systems (PLC/SCADA/DCS). Its NAICS code is 334513 and its SIC code is 3823.