Semiconductor design company Arm Holdings is establishing a base in Malaysia while US venture investor General Catalyst is reported considering an IPO.
Arm Holdings eyes SE Asia expansion
British semiconductor design firm Arm Holdings is expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia by establishing a base in Malaysia, national news agency Bernama reported.
The new facility, according to the report, will serve as a strategic hub for the company’s operations, leveraging the country’s robust electronics ecosystem and skilled workforce.
The development was disclosed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim following an online discussion with Arm’s chief executive officer. The meeting was also attended by SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son.
Arm’s planned investment in Malaysia comes as the government last year committed at least $5.6 billion to bolster its semiconductor sector as it seeks to hold on to its position as the sixth-largest chip exporter in the world.
Arm Holdings is a semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England. Its main business is designing central processing unit (CPU) architectures that implement the Arm instruction set.
General Catalyst may be first American VC to go public
General Catalyst, a US-headquartered venture capital firm that has been active in Southeast Asia and India, is reportedly in the early stages of considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
According to an Axios report, which quoted multiple sources, the plan is still preliminary and General Catalyst has not hired bankers for the listing. No timetable has been set.
If the plan moves forward, General Catalyst will become the first American venture capital firm to go public.
General Catalyst, which has over $25 billion in assets under management, focuses on seed- and early-stage deals. It closed its last vehicle at around $4.6 billion in February 2022.
Its portfolio companies in India include aerospace defence manufacturer Jeh Aerospace, insurance startup Loop, fintech startups OneCode, Dhani, CRED, and Uni, and used car retail Spinny.
