MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which counts Lenovo Group (聯想) and China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) as its customers, yesterday launched its MediaTek Labs program to speed up development of applications for wearable devices and the Internet of Things.
The new program is intended to help hardware and application developers create new products by running the Linkit operating system, powered by MediaTek’s Aster processor, and especially designed for tiny wearable and Internet of Things devices. Aster is the world’s smallest wearable chip measuring 5.4mm by 6.2mm.
“MediaTek is good at providing reference design. We believe MediaTek’s Aster chip and its software can help global wearable and Internet of Things developers and partners to develop new products faster,” company president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said at the annual Computex trade show.
MediaTek yesterday opened its product showroom to the public.
JC Hsu (徐敬全), general manager of MediaTek’s new business development unit, said that the new platform is a semi-turnkey, which would allow developers to create their products easily.
Customers are using MediaTek’s new chip and system in developing a wide range of wearable devices, including smartwatches, GPS trackers, or medical and sports monitors, which can be connected to all kinds of smartphones, Hsu said.
MediaTek is scheduled to start shipments of its first Aster processors next quarter. The chipmaker said more than 10 customers are designing their wearable products using its Aster chips and that number was expected to grow several times.
Most wearable devices or Web-enabled products would be shipped to China, MediaTek chief financial officer David Ku (顧大為) said.
Ku said revenue contribution from the new wearable and Internet of Things chips will be minimal this year, but could post a single-digit percentage growth next quarter. MediaTek made NT$136.06 billion (US$4.52 billion) in revenue last year, up 37.1 percent annually.
Hsieh said yesterday that handset inventory in China appeared to be at normal levels and chip supply was tight.
He expected supply constraints to extend into the next quarter when seasonal demand picks up.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS