Foundry MediaTek, Intel was exposed to meet additional conditions

According to industry sources, Intel and MediaTek announced yesterday (25) a strategic partnership, with the additional condition that Intel needs to introduce its own Wi-Fi 6 chip technology to enhance MediaTek's business in this field.

One of the conditions for the cooperation between the two parties is that Intel must join the IC design company Realtek, introduce the Wi-Fi 6 chip technology of Intel PC processors, and cooperate with Realtek to develop other chip sources, the sources said.

Intel also cut its foundry bids to secure orders from MediaTek, the sources said. MediaTek will use Intel's 16nm process technology to manufacture its edge device chips.

At present, MediaTek's order cooperation is mainly in TSMC and UMC. According to sources, MediaTek has placed orders for chips below 7nm and below 7nm with TSMC, and signed an order with UMC for 28nm chips. The sources pointed out that MediaTek's orders to Intel may not be as substantial as those with other foundry partners, but it is an important step for Intel's foundry business.

Dan Hutcheson, a chip economist at industry watcher TechInsights, said that the industry has doubts about whether Intel can complete the foundry business, but the deal with MediaTek shows that it is on the right track. On the road, in addition, this also means that Intel's investment is paying off.

It is reported that Intel Foundry Service (IFS) announced in March 2021 that IFS is different from other foundry products. It will combine advanced process technology and packaging to deliver the promised production capacity in the United States and Europe, and support x86 cores , ARM and RISC-V ecosystem IP production.