'Daewon CTS and DeepX Join Forces to Expand AI Solutions'

Daewon C&T, a leader in domestic AI infrastructure business, signs exclusive distribution agreement with AI semiconductor developer DeepX

(12 April 2024) Daewon CTS (Co-CEOs Ha Sung-won, Lee Sang-ho, Kim Bo-kyung), South Korea's largest IT infrastructure provider, signed a master distributor agreement on the 11th with DeepX (CEO Kim Nok-won), the nation's largest AI semiconductor start-up. Daewon CTS announced on the 11th that it signed a B2B and B2C business master distribution agreement at DeepX's Pangyo headquarters. The signing ceremony, attended by representatives from both companies including CEO Kim Nok-won and Daewon CTS Chairman Jung Myeong-cheon, aims to expand on-device AI solutions across all industries.

Daewon CTS, founded in 1988, serves as the domestic distributor for global semiconductor and server companies including AMD, Dell, Supermicro, and K2S. It has also led the distribution of domestic IT products through distribution agreements with domestic and international IT manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, and HP, achieving distribution sales of 720 billion won last year.   With the proliferation of generative AI technology and the expansion of the AI infrastructure market, AI semiconductors are gaining significant attention.

Traditional semiconductor companies, alongside global big tech firms, are now entering the AI semiconductor development arena. AI semiconductors, capable of processing artificial neural network (NPU) algorithms for inference technology with low power consumption and high speed, are growing faster than any other industry alongside the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Gartner forecasts the AI semiconductor market will grow to $119.4 billion by 2027, more than tripling its current size.

The government is also sparing no effort in supporting efforts to secure a foothold in the AI semiconductor market. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy launched an AI Semiconductor Collaboration Forum, involving Korea's seven major core industries, to support the integration of AI into daily life. Against this backdrop, the strategic distribution partnership agreement between Daewon City and DeepX carries particular significance.

Through this agreement, Daewon City plans to expand its reach beyond supplying NPU servers, storage, and AI networking solutions in the existing data centre market, extending into edge infrastructure environments.

Daewon C&T anticipates that its collaboration with DeepX will enable the supply of single-package solutions for AI. The partnership with Daewon C&T, which possesses a large domestic distribution network, holds strategic value for DeepX.

It allows for the efficient supply of on-device AI semiconductor products, such as the DX-V1 and DX-M1, to customers via this extensive distribution network from the early stages of mass production. Furthermore, as Daewon CTS is the domestic distributor for global server manufacturers such as Dell, Supermicro, and K2US – companies with which DeepX is exploring cooperation – it is anticipated that this partnership will generate synergies in DeepX's server market strategy.  

Daewon CTS CEO Ha Sung-won stated, "Having served as the exclusive distributor for various server companies in the domestic market, we have targeted the GPU server-centric AI infrastructure market. With this exclusive distribution agreement with DeepX, we plan to transform into a genuine domestic specialist in AI infrastructure construction solutions."  

DeepX CEO Kim Nok-won remarked, "We will expand our presence in the AI semiconductor market through Daewon CTS's robust and extensive distribution network and DeepX's technologically superior products.

Commencing our full-scale global market offensive with our first-generation product, comprising four AI semiconductors entering mass production in the latter half of this year, we will pioneer the era of AI integration into daily life."