Intel to produce chips for Taiwanese manufacturer MediaTek

Intel is set to produce chips for MediaTek using Intel Foundry Services’ (IFS) advanced process technologies.

The agreement is one of the most significant deals the US chip giant has managed to secure since launching IFS last year, in a business space where it competes against the likes of TSMC and Samsung.

The agreement is set to help MediaTek build a more balanced, resilient supply chain through the addition of a new foundry partner with significant capacity in the United States and Europe, the two companies said today while announcing the partnership.

MediaTek plans to use Intel process technologies to manufacture multiple chips for a range of smart edge devices. IFS offers a broad manufacturing platform to do this, with technologies optimised for high performance and low power.

“MediaTek has long adopted a multi-sourcing strategy,” said NS Tsai, corporate senior vice president of Platform Technology & Manufacturing Operations at MediaTek. “We have an existing 5G data card business partnership with Intel, and now extend our relationship to manufacturing smart edge devices through Intel Foundry Services. With its commitment to major capacity expansions, IFS provides value to MediaTek as we seek to create a more diversified supply chain. We look forward to building a long-term partnership to serve the fast-growing demand for our products from customers across the globe.”

The partnership is set to be one of the most significant manufacturing deals Intel has secured since launching IFS last year. The company hoped that IFS would make it a major provider of foundry capacity in the US and Europe, by making custom chips for tech firms and governments and competing with TSMC and Samsung.

The firm’s plan to build its foundry business also aims to address the surging demand for semiconductor manufacturing which was squeezed over the past few years due to a supply shortage.

Intel’s foundry business has already secured other major deals before this MediaTek one, including producing chips for Qualcomm and Amazon last year. This is part of the US chip giant’s plan to regain its lead in the chip-making world by 2025, including by rolling out new chipmaking technologies over the next three years.