South Korean AI Chip Unicorn Rebellions Expands with Japan Subsidiary

Tokyo, Japan - South Korean AI semiconductor company Rebellions Inc. has established a Japanese subsidiary in Tokyo to expand its presence in Japan's AI data center market, the company announced on Monday.

The new entity, Rebellions Japan Inc., marks the unicorn startup's first overseas subsidiary and aims to strengthen partnerships with Japanese customers while offering improved technical support.

Heajin Kim, a University of Tokyo graduate who previously managed MUSINSA's early Japan operations, is leading the Japanese business. 

The company plans to appoint a formal representative for the subsidiary and accelerate proof-of-concept projects with Japanese cloud service providers and telecommunications companies.

"Japan is one of the most rapidly developing AI infrastructure markets in Asia and a key priority for us," said Sunghyun Park, CEO of Rebellions. "AI semiconductor development companies that can comprehensively execute from chip development to data center proof of concept implementations are limited. Rebellions is already working closely with top Japanese companies to deepen technical cooperation."

The company cited Japan's growing AI data center market as strategically important, noting increased investments from global technology firms and Japanese government subsidies for AI supercomputing infrastructure.

Rebellions has previously secured investment from Japanese venture capital firm DG Daiwa Ventures and reported achieving its first sales in the Japanese market in 2024.

Founded in 2020, Rebellions has raised approximately KRW 300 billion (US$204.4 million) in funding from domestic and international investors, including Wa'ed Ventures, Saudi Aramco's corporate venture capital arm, and KT, a major South Korean telecommunications company. 

The firm released its first mass-production chip, "ATOM," in 2023 and plans to launch its next-generation product, "REBEL," featuring chiplet architecture and HBM3e memory, in 2025.

As part of its global expansion strategy, the company plans to establish a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia within the year.