Malaysia has agreed to pay US$250 million over ten years to UK-based Arm Holdings for access to its intellectual property, including seven high-end chip design blueprints.

Economy minister Rafizi Ramli said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that this initiative aims to enhance the country’s semiconductor sector.

The deal supports Malaysia’s plan to tap into rising global AI and data center demand over the next five to ten years.

The government plans to use the acquired designs to support local chip manufacturers, targeting the establishment of 10 domestic firms with annual revenues between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion each.