Following Qualcomm and Amazon... Intel Secures Taiwan's Mediatek as Foundry Customer

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Intel announced on the 25th (local time) that it has signed a foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) agreement with Taiwan's MediaTek.

Intel and MediaTek announced on the same day that they have entered into a strategic partnership to manufacture semiconductor chips using Intel Foundry Services (IFS) processes. They plan to complete semiconductor design within the year and proceed with the 'tape-out' process to move into the production phase. Mass production is expected to begin in the first half of next year. The process is likely to apply Intel 16 (16nm class) technology.

This contract is considered one of the most important since Intel declared its re-entry into the foundry business early last year. Previously, Intel had announced foundry agreements with US companies Qualcomm and Amazon.

According to a foreign media report, Dan Hutchison, Chief Economist at semiconductor consulting firm TechInsights, evaluated that Intel's agreement with MediaTek dispelled the industry's skeptical views regarding Intel's re-entry into the foundry business.

Following Intel's announcement last year to establish a foundry plant in Arizona, USA, it announced in January this year that it would invest $20 billion (approximately 26.23 trillion KRW) to build two state-of-the-art plants in Ohio. In February, Intel also acquired Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli semiconductor foundry company.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.