📝 Summary
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is celebrating its alumni engineers, highlighting their contributions to technological innovation. One such alumnus, SK Fong, CEO of SkyeChip, has developed Malaysia’s first indigenous Edge AI processor, MARS1000, showcasing the nation’s growing capabilities in AI hardware. Fong’s work, alongside his continued engagement with UTM, exemplifies the successful translation of academic knowledge into real-world technological impact and strengthens Malaysia’s position in the global tech ecosystem.
As the world marks World Engineering Day beginning today, 4 March, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) celebrates engineers whose work demonstrates how knowledge and research translate into real-world technological impact. These stories reflect UTM’s commitment to Innovating Sustainable Solutions, where engineering talent contributes to industry advancement, national development, and global technological progress.
One such example is UTM alumnus, Dato’ Swee Kiang (SK) Fong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SkyeChip, a Penang-based semiconductor design company specialising in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) chip design, and advanced integrated circuit technologies.
With over 30 years of experience in the global semiconductor industry, Fong has held leadership roles in major technology companies including Intel, Broadcom, and Altera Corporation. During his more than two decades at Intel, he played a significant role in establishing the Intel Design Center in Malaysia, contributing to the development of the country’s semiconductor engineering ecosystem and talent pipeline.
A First Class Bachelor of Electrical Engineering graduate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Fong represents the strong technical and innovation-oriented training that UTM engineers bring to the global technology sector. He later completed an Executive MBA jointly offered by Olin Business School (Washington University in St. Louis) and Fudan University in Shanghai, further strengthening his international leadership perspective.
Through SkyeChip, Fong is now contributing to Malaysia’s ambitions in advanced semiconductor design and artificial intelligence technologies. In 2025, the company introduced MARS1000, recognised as Malaysia’s first domestically developed Edge AI processor, marking an important milestone in strengthening national capabilities in AI hardware, digital technologies, and high-performance computing.
The company has demonstrated rapid growth, with revenue increasing from RM57.2 million in FY2023 to RM119.5 million in FY2025, and plans underway for a Malaysian IPO expected in April 2026. This growth reflects the increasing demand for AI-driven semiconductor solutions, a sector widely recognised as critical to the future of global digital infrastructure.
Beyond industry leadership, Fong continues to engage with UTM through collaborations that support research, innovation, and engineering talent development in emerging technology areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor design, and high-performance computing.
These collaborations exemplify how partnerships between universities and industry can accelerate knowledge transfer, technology innovation, and graduate employability, strengthening Malaysia’s position within the global technology ecosystem.
