Intel is a well-known brand in the PC and laptop industries and produces its own chips. The Taiwanese fabless semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek, known for producing smartphone chips used in high-end, mid-range, and low-end phones, and Intel have today announced their alliance.
Intel has now signed on MediaTek, a new foundry partner with significant capacity in the US and Europe, as its first client. The goal of this collaboration is to assist MediaTek in producing chips utilising Intel Foundry Services in order to create a more stable and balanced supply chain.
The business has chosen to produce a number of chips for a variety of smart edge devices using Intel Processing Technologies. This deal’s specifics have not yet been made public.
Randhir Thakur, the President of Intel Foundry Services said,
“As one of the world’s leading fabless chip designers powering more than 2 billion devices a year, MediaTek is a terrific partner for Intel Foundry Services (IFS) as we enter our next phase of growth. We have the right combination of advanced process technology and geographically diverse capacity to help MediaTek deliver the next billion connected devices across a range of applications.”
MediaTek has traditionally used a multi-sourcing strategy, according to NS Tai, Corporate Vice President of Platform Technology and Manufacturing Operations. With Intel, we already have a business connection involving 5G data cards, and we have now expanded it to include the production of smart edge devices via Intel Foundry Services. IFS adds value to MediaTek by pledging significant capacity additions as we work to build a more diverse supply chain. We are eager to establish a long-term collaboration in order to meet the rapidly expanding demand for our products from clients throughout the world.
Intel Foundry Services has an advantage over other well-known chip foundries because it is situated in the western hemisphere, as opposed to most of them, which are based in Taiwan or China. This is because chip supply will suffer if Taiwan experiences problems with component supply or lockdowns brought on by COVID-19. This is one of the reasons why having sources spread over several areas helps to guarantee a steady supply.
By diversifying their portfolios, Intel intends to assist businesses in the US and Europe. The business has already made plans to establish new sites in Ohio and Germany as well as increase capacity at current US locations.
