Ken Phua Returns to Singapore to Build the Future of Agentic AI Silicon
After spending 25 years overseas helping scale another company’s semiconductor business, Ken Phua has returned to Singapore with a new mission: to build something of his own.
Phua, the former co-CEO of Arm China, has spent much of his career at the center of the global chip industry. His experience gave him a front-row seat to how computing platforms are built, licensed, commercialized, and adopted across major technology markets. But after decades abroad, he is now focusing that knowledge on a new chapter closer to home.
His latest ambition is tied to one of the most important shifts in technology today: agentic AI.
Unlike traditional artificial intelligence systems that wait for instructions, agentic AI is designed to act more independently. These systems can reason, plan, make decisions, and carry out tasks with less human involvement. As this new AI era grows, it will demand more advanced hardware capable of handling complex workloads efficiently.
That is where silicon becomes crucial.
AI models are becoming more powerful, but they are also becoming more demanding. Running them at scale requires chips that can deliver high performance without consuming excessive energy. For startups and established players alike, the race is no longer just about creating smarter software. It is also about designing the processors and architectures that make next-generation AI practical, affordable, and widely usable.
Phua’s return to Singapore reflects a broader opportunity for the region. Singapore has long been known as a strategic technology and business hub, with strong infrastructure, global connectivity, and a growing deep-tech ecosystem. For semiconductor and AI companies, the country offers access to talent, capital, research partnerships, and international markets.
By building from Singapore, Phua is positioning his new venture at the intersection of AI innovation and chip design. His background gives him a rare combination of technical industry knowledge, international business experience, and insight into how semiconductor ecosystems evolve.
The timing is also significant. Around the world, demand for AI chips is rising rapidly as companies search for faster and more efficient ways to power automation, robotics, enterprise AI tools, edge devices, and intelligent agents. As agentic AI becomes more common, specialized silicon could play a major role in determining which platforms succeed.
For Phua, this move is more than a career change. It is a return home with a purpose.
After decades spent helping build someone else’s business model, he is now applying that experience to create his own. His focus on agentic AI silicon suggests a bold bet on where computing is headed next: toward intelligent systems that do more, decide more, and require a new generation of hardware to unlock their full potential.
Singapore may now become the launchpad for that vision.
