Oppo, China’s biggest domestic smartphone maker, is closing its chip design business as the global smartphone market extends a prolonged decline.
The phone maker, based in Dongguan, China, becomes one of the first major Chinese tech firms to retreat from the chip sector, after a wave of investment in past years by electronics players wary of tightening US export curbs.
The company is ceasing operations of the unit, named Zeku, due to uncertainty around the global economy and the cellphone industry, a company spokesperson said yesterday.
Set up in 2019, Zeku was intended to work along similar lines to Apple Inc’s in-house Silicon division, which develops the main processors in iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The Oppo group was tasked with designing applications processors, modems and other connectivity solutions such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth parts. It had locations in Shanghai, Xian, Beijing and Chengdu, the company’s Web site said.
Its Shanghai unit had almost 200 patents, many of which are semiconductor-related, Chinese corporate database Tianyancha (天眼查) said.
Zeku developed the MariSilicon X image-processing chip unveiled at the end of 2021, which has been a fixture in Oppo flagship devices since.
Oppo experienced double-digit shipment drops over the past year and, like other handset manufacturers, is facing a glut of inventory.
China’s smartphone market, the world’s biggest, has led a sharp drop in demand that has lasted for more than a year. The country’s reopening following stringent “zero COVID-19” restrictions has been slow to translate into a rebound in consumer demand.
Oppo took the worst hit among major brands last year, IDC data show.
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