The automotive semiconductor microcontroller unit (MCU) that LX Semicon became the first domestic chipmaker to supply to Hyundai Motor and Kia. [LX Semicon]
The automotive semiconductor microcontroller unit (MCU) that LX Semicon became the first domestic chipmaker to supply to Hyundai Motor and Kia. [LX Semicon]

LX Semicon, a fabless semiconductor design company, has become the first domestic chipmaker to supply an automotive microcontroller unit (MCU) to Hyundai Motor and Kia — the first tangible result from its push into automotive MCUs as a new business, and raising expectations for faster expansion into the segment.

LX Semicon, South Korea's top fabless chipmaker, announced Monday it has begun supplying Hyundai Motor and Kia with the LX61101, an MCU optimized for motor control functions. It is the first time a domestically made MCU has been fitted in a Hyundai Motor or Kia vehicle. The company plans to gradually expand the range of models equipped with the chip, starting with vehicles the two automakers produce in the second half of this year.

LX Semicon has been developing automotive MCUs as a future growth engine since 2022, aiming to diversify a business heavily concentrated in display driver ICs (DDI) by leveraging its existing MCU technology for home appliances. The global automotive MCU market was estimated at around 15.5 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in 2025.

Selected in March 2023 as a new supplier for Hyundai Motor and Kia's motor-control MCU program, LX Semicon spent roughly three years on development and quality testing before successfully bringing the LX61101 to mass production. The chip meets AEC-Q100, the automotive semiconductor reliability standard, as well as the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

The automotive semiconductor microcontroller unit that LX Semicon became the first domestic chipmaker to supply to Hyundai Motor and Kia. [LX Semicon]
The automotive semiconductor microcontroller unit that LX Semicon became the first domestic chipmaker to supply to Hyundai Motor and Kia. [LX Semicon]

The LX61101 monitors and controls automotive motor operations in real time — including speed, position, rotational direction and torque. Built on a 40MHz Arm Cortex-M3 core designed by UK-based semiconductor intellectual property company Arm, it enables precise motor control.

The chip is used in vehicle window safety systems — which reopen a window if an obstacle is detected while it is closing — and in systems that manage vehicle aerodynamics. Its compact design, strong performance and high system efficiency set it apart.

The semiconductor industry regards the development as historically significant: it is the first domestic MCU ever supplied to a Korean automaker, and every stage of the process — from chip design through to the finished vehicle, foundry production and back-end processing — involved South Korean companies.

"We will develop our automotive MCU business over the medium to long term, expanding our product lineup beyond control functions to cover communications, drive, sensor and power applications," an LX Semicon official said. "Through automotive semiconductors, we aim to broaden the company's growth opportunities and contribute to strengthening both the domestic automaker industry and the semiconductor sector as a whole."


joze@heraldcorp.com