Oman-backed chipmaker to open Silicon Valley AI test centre

Summary

• GSME and Teradyne will build an AI chip test centre in Silicon Valley.
• Oman's ITHCA Group put $8 million into GSME for a 34.25% stake.
• The deal extends Oman's sovereign push into semiconductor design and engineering.

The latest

An Oman-backed semiconductor firm is opening an advanced test and evaluation centre for artificial intelligence chips in Silicon Valley, under a multi-year partnership with Nasdaq-listed Teradyne. GS Microelectronics US Inc will house the facility at its new 42,000-square-foot headquarters, with an opening scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026. The partnership was announced on September 22, according to Oman Daily Observer.

Details

• The stake: ITHCA Group, owned by the Oman Investment Authority, invested $8 million in GSME and holds a 34.25% stake in the US company, according to ITHCA's annual report. The report frames the investment as part of Oman's effort to build domestic semiconductor design and engineering capability rather than a purely financial position.
• The facility: The centre will sit inside GSME's new 42,000-square-foot Silicon Valley headquarters and is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2026. No more precise opening date has been announced, and the partners have not disclosed the capital committed to building out the site.
• What it tests: The centre will support devices used in hyperscale AI, silicon photonics, automotive applications, power management and radio-frequency technologies, according to Oman Daily Observer. That range places it beyond AI accelerators alone and into the analogue and optical components that data-centre and vehicle systems depend on.
• The division of labour: The partnership pairs GSME's semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities with Teradyne's automated test platforms, the report said. Teradyne, listed on Nasdaq, supplies the automated test equipment that verifies whether chips perform to specification before they reach volume production.
• The test floor: GSME will run a dedicated test floor equipped with Teradyne systems, offering customers device evaluation, engineering development, pilot production, demonstrations and technical training. The mix positions the site as a shared service for chip developers rather than a captive facility serving GSME's own products only.
• The Oman side: GSME has opened a semiconductor design centre in Muscat and designed the Oman-1 and Oman-2 chips using Omani talent, according to Oman Daily Observer. Neither the applications of the two chips nor their production status was specified.
• Hiring plans: As part of the partnership, GSME said it is expanding its test engineering teams across the United States, Taiwan, Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The company did not give headcount figures or a timeline for the recruitment drive.
• The footprint: GSME is headquartered in San Jose, California, with operations spanning the United States, Taiwan, Vietnam and Oman. The Taiwan presence places the company close to the foundry cluster that fabricates most advanced logic chips, while the Vietnam and Oman sites sit further down the assembly and design chain.

Background

Oman Investment Authority is the sultanate's sovereign wealth fund, and ITHCA Group is its technology investment arm. The GSME stake is one route through which Muscat has sought to acquire chip design and engineering know-how rather than build fabrication plants from scratch.

Between the lines

The structure of the deal is instructive: Oman holds a minority stake in a US-headquartered company that is now building capacity in California, Taiwan, Europe and the Gulf. The return to Oman is routed through the Muscat design centre and the Oman-1 and Oman-2 chips, which suggests the sultanate is buying access to engineering talent and test infrastructure abroad while seeding capability at home.

What's next

Watch for the centre's opening in the fourth quarter of 2026, any disclosure of its first customers, and whether GSME names production partners or applications for the Oman-1 and Oman-2 chips.

Source: Oman Daily Observer (via Zawya)