Taiwanese chipset behemoth MediaTek is charting new waters, as it plans to grow from its technological prowess as a semiconductor manufacturer for connected devices, to striving for success in the automotive space.
The company is currently conducting design and development work on solutions for the automotive sector, which are expected to see rollout and revenue ramp-up in two years.
“We have a multi-step approach in the automotive market, which is a new space for us. In the near term, our focus would be towards consumer application. In the first step, we would be interested in infotainment, telematics and connectivity, as they fit well with some of the technologies, solutions and products that we are already developing for the consumer mobile devices market,” MediaTek General Manager (Corporate Sales — International) Finbarr Moynihan told DH over phone from Boston.
Highly integrated fashion
MediaTek is among a small number of companies with the technology — SOC (system on chip), multimedia, and connectivity — as also the scale to bring such products to market cost-effectively, and in a highly integrated fashion.
Its long-term vision encompasses critical areas of safety and autonomous driving, for which it will look at Vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Precision Millimetre Wave (mmWave) Radar, among other innovations.
Referring to contributions from the Bengaluru and Noida locations, which together employ 500 engineers, Moynihan hinted that a lot of core development in hardware, software, multimedia, connectivity, and CPU design, is currently shipped from here to home and consumer mobile markets, which could branch out to automotive needs in the future.
Talking about the scope of the automotive space, he said, “The production of light vehicles will grow 2-3% year-on-year, with growth coming from Asia, APAC, and Africa.”
High-end technologies
While MediaTek has demonstrated success by democratising high-end technologies, making them available to mid-range mobile phones and tablets, in cars too, it would aim to bring sophisticated innovations and develop them for mid-range, and even entry models, overtime.
The company will be outsourcing all manufacturing, from where products will make for emerging car markets, possibly even India, wherein it may also eye manufacturing opportunities, Moynihan hinted.
