MediaTek, a fabless chipmaker that supplies chips to some of the world’s leading electronics companies, has stated that it is willing to consider using chips made in India as the country’s ecosystem develops. Anku Jain, managing director of MediaTek India, stated in an interview that the fabrication units planned for India will most likely focus on mature nodes at first.
In chip manufacturing, the technology node is critical. Smaller nodes result in more efficient chips, which are used in cutting-edge devices. However, more mature nodes such as 28nm and above are still used in many devices such as appliances and smart home products. Jain’s remarks come after MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai stated in November that chipmakers like MediaTek will require multiple sources in the future.
MediaTek is a major and one of the largest chip suppliers to smartphone manufacturers.
According to Counterpoint Research, the company supplied 28% of all mobile chips in the December quarter, trailing only Apple and ahead of US rival Qualcomm. Smartphone chips, particularly those supplied by firms such as MediaTek and Qualcomm, are currently manufactured using 5nm and lower nodes, which are not expected to be produced in India at this time.
According to Jain, MediaTek sees India as having a “very high chance” of becoming a chip manufacturing hub. He also mentioned that chip availability has improved on a macro level. “We see a lot of serious intent from the government and industry partners. The government has realized that semiconductor itself is a very strategic sector, and we cannot really rely on external parties and we should have at least some control over it.
We are still in the early days. From a design point of view, India is doing very well in the last several years. I think 20-25% of the global talent actually is available in India from a chip design point of view. We have multiple patents from MediaTek India,” he said.
To be sure, the Indian government has offered a $10 billion production-linked incentive (PLI) to chip companies interested in establishing fabrication units in India. At the moment, a joint venture between Foxconn and Indian conglomerate Vedanta Group is said to be the front-runner for receiving approvals. The company hired chip veteran David Reed in February to lead its chip efforts in the country.
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