MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it would adopt next-generation 3-nanometer technology developed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) for its new chips in a bid to consolidate its competitive edge.
The Hsinchu-based chip designer’s remarks came after speculation that Apple Inc might stick to 5-nanometer, rather than adopting TSMC’s 3-nanometer technology for its new iPhone series next year, due to unknown production problems.
TSMC has said that it is on track to increase production of 3-nanometer chips in the second half of next year.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
MediaTek’s strategy is to enhance its competitiveness by collaborating with its major foundry partner, TSMC, a company executive said.
“We are not going to veer in a different direction... It is something we must do [to hold off the] competition,” MediaTek vice chairman and chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a media briefing in Taipei.
“We have tapped 5-nanometer and 4-nanometer technologies to make our products. We think that 3-nanometer will certainly be next. We are working closely with TSMC,” Tsai said, declining to disclose a timeline.
MediaTek would further their cooperation by shifting to TSMC’s advanced chip packaging technology, dubbed chiplet, from existing 3D chip packaging technology.
Commenting on the lingering global chip shortage, Tsai said that supply next year would remain tight.
Tsai said that he does not expect to gain a clear picture of the supply-demand dynamics until 2023, when the world’s major foundries significantly ramp up new production.
For MediaTek, chip scarcity has been “manageable, but for the industry as a whole, it is a grave issue,” he said.
MediaTek last month told investors that it had a sufficient supply of chips to meet its business needs next year.
Given the company’s strong growth in 5G chips, Tsai said that MediaTek would be interested in using chips made at TSMC’s planned Kaohsiung factory.
TSMC’s board of directors approved the capacity expansion plan last week.
“The 5G market is growing beyond China next year, which will create a good opportunity for the company,” Tsai said.
MediaTek said that it expects to capture more than 35 percent of the Android-based smartphone market in North America.
The global 5G penetration rate next year is expected to exceed 50 percent, up from 30 percent this year, MediaTek added.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced