The Wall Street Journal has highlighted MediaTek as another “Taiwanese chip champion”. MediaTek is Taiwan’s second largest company after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest chip foundry in the world. Unlike TSMC, Mediatek is a fabless semiconductor company that specializes in designing chips .
The article highlights the fact that MediaTek’s shares have more than doubled since the beginning of last year, and that the company now has a market value of US$62 billion. Last year, according to Counterpoint Research, MediaTek overtook Qualcomm to become the largest maker of mobile chipsets. This year, MediaTek is expected to continue to lead the smartphone chip market with a 37% share. Qualcomm is positioned to lead the global 5G smartphone chip market with a 30% share.
MediaTek’s more affordable chipsets have won market share in mid- to low-end markets. The Wall Street Journal also said that US sanctions on Huawei have helped MediaTek. That’s because, as Huawei has suffered from the sanctions, other Chinese smartphone rivals like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have gained market share. Those companies are MediaTek’s major clients.
Along with TSMC, MediaTek is another key Taiwanese chip company to watch. It provides chips for wireless communications, HD television, smartphones, and tablet computers, among other popular items.