2024-04-13 13:05:19
Nemesis goes global with biosignal processing semiconductor solutions
Professional chip manufacturing for digital health devices… Distinguishing between biological signals and noise is key
Identifying the growing demand for health care… Win with customized sensor design rather than general purpose
‘Nemesis’, located in Pangyo New Town, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, is a company that designs semiconductors that ‘smartly’ process biological signals generated from the bodies of humans and animals. Signals from moving living organisms must be properly processed even under adverse conditions, and the key is to design them with ultra-small minimum power. CEO Wang Seong-ho (57), who met at the Pangyo headquarters office on the 8th, said, “Semiconductors that process biological signals have so far used general-purpose signal processing chips released by global companies,” and added, “We specialize in designing semiconductors specialized in biological signal processing. “We are the only company in the world that optimizes and manufactures chips according to sensor characteristics.”
The number of devices that monitor one’s body for health has been increasing recently. Rings that measure heart rate and amount of exercise, brainwave monitors for sleep management, and electrocardiogram measurement devices that can be installed on beds or clothes are coming out. Continuous blood sugar monitors for blood sugar management are also used for diet or health management. You can check your blood sugar level in real time on your cell phone for two weeks through a sensor attached to your forearm. It is useful not only for managing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, but also for the general public who want to improve their unhealthy eating habits. CEO Wang said, “Digital health device development companies can create sensors that detect biological signals and then fuse them with the semiconductors we made to create high-quality health devices.”
● Know-how for processing biological signals with a lot of movement
Bio signals are noisy and irregular. CEO Wang said, “When a living body moves, the intensity of the signal generated changes rapidly and is subject to a lot of interference from surrounding electromagnetic fields.” He added, “To distinguish between signals and noise, expertise and know-how that can integrate and handle both the bio and semiconductor sectors are needed. “Do it,” he said.
Designing to operate at low power is also an essential technology. As the battery gets smaller, the fitness equipment becomes more comfortable to use, can be used for a longer period of time, and becomes more convenient.
Health device development companies often do not receive semiconductors that perfectly match the characteristics of the sensors they develop. Instead, a general-purpose chip for general use must be modified and used. If the output value of a biometric sensor is outside the input value range of a general-purpose chip, it is difficult to combine the sensor and semiconductor. CEO Wang said, “If we, who manufacture signal processing semiconductors, design a design tailored to the output value of the sensor, the problem can be easily solved.”
He continued, “If a general-purpose chip is used in a device that has been developed with difficulty, it may be difficult for a device development company to maintain differentiated competitiveness because the function is easily revealed due to the chip’s model number, etc.” He added, “We produce customized chips for customers.” “It provides more advantages to device companies.”
●“We have also developed an ultra-small machine learning chip”
![“Continuous blood sugar monitor, smart ring… “Supply customized chips for health equipment”[허진석의 톡톡 스타트업]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/04/12/124453522.6.jpg "“Continuous blood sugar monitor, smart ring… “Supply customized chips for health equipment”[허진석의 톡톡 스타트업]")
Nemesis possesses a variety of semiconductor chip technologies. First, there is a chip that processes electrochemical-based bio signals. It is a product that receives signals from a sensor that detects electrical signals generated by chemical reactions with body fluids and converts them into accurate data. It is used in continuous blood sugar monitors and electroencephalography (EEG) monitors. It can also be used as an in vitro diagnostic device to test saliva or urine. Nemesis developed a sensor capable of continuous blood sugar measurement until about two years ago, but has now closed down the sensor business and is focusing only on semiconductor design technology.
We also manufacture ‘signal processing chips for multi-vital sign monitoring’ that are used in devices that measure various biological signals, such as smart rings and smart watches. In order to process multiple signals on one chip, the key is to optimally design technology so that only specific signals can be detected when needed. Only then can volume and power be reduced.
We also developed a tiny machine learning-based bio signal processing system-on-chip (SoC). After integrating the processor and memory into one chip, the biological signals are processed based on machine learning to accurately distinguish and process the signals. These chips can be applied to animals as well as humans. The number of devices that monitor the health of companion animals such as dogs and cats is increasing. In the case of cattle raised as livestock, the fertile period is about one day, so it is important to know the time of ovulation in order to give birth to a calf. Semiconductor chips are also used in monitoring devices to determine this.
● Second startup
CEO Wang, who holds a doctorate in engineering from KAIST, is a circuit design expert. He worked at SK Hynix until the early 2000s. He saw the future of short-range wireless communication technology and founded Radio Pulse in 2003. He created several communication chips and devices utilizing a short-range wireless communication standard called ZigBee.
The company sold to a Nasdaq-listed company in 2015. Since this was a method of selling 100% of the company’s shares rather than only handing over the stocks of major shareholders, the profits from the sale of the company went to not only the founding members but also most of the employees who held stocks. After the sale, CEO Wang helped run the first company until 2017, then retired in 2017 and started his second company, Nemesis.
Nemesis has many experts with experience in academia and industry. Vice President Kim Geun-hoe, chief technology officer and co-founder, has a doctorate in engineering from Yonsei University and is a member of RadioPulse who also served as chief technology officer. Professor Je Min-gyu of KAIST, who is active as a co-founder and technical advisor, is an expert in the field of biological signal processing. Vice President Choi Hyun-moo, also a co-founder, is from Samsung Electronics and is responsible for sales in the domestic and Asian sectors. Co-founder and managing director Gil Jun-ho is a member of Nemesis SoC Research Institute. He holds a doctorate in engineering from KAIST. RadioPulse was also co-founded.
CEO Wang said, “We have a team of people with extensive experience in chip design, production, and sales, which is rare for a startup. We have over 20 years of chip mass production experience, and during our time at Radiopulse, we manufactured over 30 million chips with Samsung and Samsung without any defect issues.” “We supplied it to LG,” he said.
●“Entering the global market as a company specializing in biosignal processing semiconductors”
Nemesis plans to mass produce two types of chips this year through a foundry (semiconductor consignment production). The four major chips are made from actual semiconductor chips and performance tests have been completed. This means that it can be used on digital health devices at any time.
CEO Wang said, “Sales of biological signal processing semiconductors have been low so far, but as devices such as continuous blood sugar monitors that are used and replaced every two weeks are coming out, demand will increase significantly in the future.” Another important thing to look at is signs of change in the medical system. With the development of monitoring devices, the one-way method of diagnosis, prescription, and medication administration by a doctor has changed to a two-way method in which the doctor refers back to the monitoring results after diagnosis, prescription, and medication administration. The demand for semiconductor chips used in monitoring devices is bound to increase as well.
Nemesis attended the ‘Super-Gap Startup Investment Briefing (IR)’ held by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in Silicon Valley, USA in January of this year and informed global venture capitalists of the company’s technology status and strategy. Nemesis plans to do its best to pioneer the global market. CEO Wang said, “Nemesis’ vision is to become a global company that provides customized semiconductors for digital health devices.”
Reporter Heo Jin-seok [email protected]
2024-04-13 13:05:19