MediaTek Inc (聯發科) posted the biggest annual increase in research and development (R&D) spending among the world’s top 10 semiconductor companies last year, IC Insights reported yesterday.
R&D spending increased 13 percent year-on-year to US$1.73 million last year, accounting for 20.2 percent of MediaTek’s revenue, the report said.
MediaTek, which designs chips for Chinese handset makers that include Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀移動), saw its R&D ranking climb by one notch to seventh in the world last year, the report said.
MediaTek has said it plans to invest NT$200 billion (US$6.5 billion) on new technologies such as 5G, automotive electronics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality in the next five years.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained its No. 6 position last year on IC Insights’ top 10 rankings.
TSMC spent 7 percent more on R&D at US$2.22 billion last year, accounting for 7.5 percent of its revenue, the report said.
Intel Corp remained the top R&D spender by allocating US$12.74 billion, representing 22.4 percent of its revenue, it said.
The US company’s R&D spending made up about 23 percent of global semiconductor firms’ US$56.5 billion in R&D expenditure last year, it said.
Qualcomm Inc ranked No. 2 after spending US$5.11 billion on R&D last year, followed by Broadcom Ltd’s US$3.19 billion and Samsung Electronics Co’s US$2.88 billion.
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