MediaTek is dominating the chipset market due to its competitive 5G portfolio in the low-mid segment. In fact, the company has managed to achieve a 43 percent share in Q2 2021 as its Dimensity 700 and Dimensity 800 series processors are very popular among OEMs due to their affordability and 5G connectivity.
Apart from that, the company has recently launched Dimensity 9000 processor, which is expected to give tough competition to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Meanwhile, Giznext has managed to exclusive interaction with Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India regarding newly launched chipsets and market share.
Tell us about your newly launched Dimensity 9000 5G Chipset?
MediaTek Dimensity 9000 is the flagship chip built on TSMC’s 4nm process. Being the latest processor, MediaTek Dimensity 9000 comes packed with the latest advancements like APU 5.0, which deliver 4x power efficiency gains compared to previous-gen APUs.
Another notable aspect of Dimensity 9000 is that it offers high levels of customization options to OEMs with our Dimensity Open Resource Architecture (DORA) that delivers deeper, chip-level tweaking options to smartphone makers.
MediaTek has become the number one chipset player globally. So, please tell us all the factors that have helped you to achieve this position?
MediaTek constantly engages with OEMs, developers as well as the end-user community as part of the Brand Connect initiatives to understand the market pulse.
What makes us differentiated in the market is that our chipsets power a wide range of smartphones catering to entry-level, medium, and premium segments; and they all come equipped with the latest technology advancements. In India, we also focus on indigenous manufacturing, which also gives us an extra edge in the local market.
How much India contributes to your overall business?
We have achieved 43 percent market share in the second quarter of this year and India is emerging as a major contributor to this share.
Over the past couple of years, OEMs in India have shown greater interest in MediaTek products, not only smartphone SoCs, but those for smart TVs, tablet PCs, voice assistants, WiFi routers, and smart home devices.
As we approach the 2 billion devices per year target globally, India is expected to increase its contribution in the upcoming years, especially in the 5G-enabled devices category.
We also expect massive adoption of 5G smartphones across all customer segments, which is why we are hopeful to sustain the leadership in the coming years, not only in smartphone SoC but other smart devices segment as well.
What is your current market share in India? What kind of investment we can expect from MediaTek in 2022?
In 2020, MediaTek invested about $2.6 billion, about a quarter of its revenue in R&D. In 2021, it has been increased to over $3billion. We have been leading the smartphone SoC market globally and have also emerged as the preferred chip vendor among OEMs in India. India has also emerged as a favourite investment destination, especially with the focus on Make in India products.
We have also collaborated with local manufacturers like VVDN Technologies and Tessolve to build innovative Make in India products for the smart home and connectivity segments.
Going forward, our focus is to expand our reach to more customers and new market segments via increased investments in R&D as well as collaboration with OEMs and technology firms.
Tell us about your upcoming unique technologies, which will be available in the chipsets?
MediaTek has developed several unique technologies, which are currently available in our leading chipsets like MediaTek Dimensity 1200, Dimensity 900, and Dimensity 9000 with more to join the league.
The latest among them is the MediaTek HyperEngine 5.0 for gaming, MediaTek Imagiq 790 camera technologies for photography, Miravision 790 visual enhancements, and the new generation APU 590 for greater performance and power efficiency.
Besides, we are also focusing on in-chip enhancements allowing OEMs to tweak the metal to create differentiated products across flagship and premium 5G smartphones. In addition, we are also focusing on the latest advancements like WiFi6, 8KTV, AIoT, and Edge.
Please brief us about your partnership with Reliance Jio and what kind of opportunity you see in gaming?
Over the past couple of years, we have been associated with Reliance Jio for the launch of the Gaming Masters series of eSports tournaments. The first season of the event featuring Garena Free Fire fetched around 43,000 teams and a prize worth Rs. 12,50,000.
eSports is emerging as a rewarding opportunity for all stakeholders in the mobile ecosystem, be it chipmakers, OEMs/ODMs, app developers, and telecom operators.
By collaborating with leaders like Jio for eSports, we get the opportunity to connect with the real audience, who are/will be the ultimate beneficiaries of our chipset technology.
Do you plan to expand your reach to other categories (Apart from smart televisions, smartphones in 2022)?
With a 5G launch expected in 2022, MediaTek’s primary focus will be 5G smartphones. Our focus in the coming days will also be to ensure the availability of affordable devices for the mass market.
Smartphones apart, the focus will be around smart home products. Under this category, we have a wide range of devices, not just smart TVs, but audio players, voice assistants, Blu-Ray discs, connectivity devices, tablet PCs, and other automated devices that find applications in smart homes. We are also exploring the combination of AI and IoT in devices, along with Edge computing.