(Chi Weiwen/ Deng Wenbiao) With the experience of SoC in the past 20 years, MediaTek has accumulated rich IP and advanced process technology, which has laid a good foundation for MediaTek in the ASIC chip market, enabling MediaTek to quickly become large The client tailored the custom-built chip (ASIC). Last year, the MediaTek ASIC team successfully took Cisco's orders and began to compete with Broadcom and other international manufacturers.
On April 24th, MediaTek held a media conference at its Shenzhen branch to show reporters the industry's first 7nm 56G PAM4 SerDes IP ASIC. The Deputy General Manager of MediaTek Technologies and General Manager of the Smart Device Business Group said that ASIC will be With a fast-growing market, in the next few years, it is hoped that the ASIC chip will become the new engine for the growth of MediaTek.
Industry First 7nm ASIC IP
MediaTek has been laying out R&D ASIC chips since 6 years. Now, MediaTek's 16nm process-based ASIC chips have occupied over 80% market share in the smart speaker market. In order to further expand the ASIC product line, MediaTek launched the industry's first silicon verification with 7nm FinFET. (Silicon-Proven) 56G PAM4 SerDes IP.
It is reported that MediaTek 56G SerDes IP has been verified by 7nm and 16nm prototype chip entities to ensure that the IP can be easily integrated into various front-end product designs. The 56G SerDes solution, using high-speed transmission signal PAM4, has first-class performance , Power consumption and die size, can be said to be the industry leader.
Zhe Jiejie said that in the ASIC business model, MediaTek can provide different services at different stages. From the specification introduction, front-end design, or lack of underlying IP after the design is completed, MediaTek can provide support and complete integration. .
To make an ASIC chip, you need a variety of different kinds of IP. After the IC is delivered from the specification surface to the customer's needs, different customers have different development needs. Even many chip design companies do not have the underlying IP. It is MediaTek's long-term accumulation in the industry that can provide all kinds of IP advantages.
In addition to the core IP, advanced processes are also very important for the energy consumption of ASIC chips. Visitors also said that mainland China has a very active investment in the semiconductor industry, but it is still difficult on advanced processes, and MediaTek can use advanced processes. Provides the most advanced process technology currently available, namely the 7nm FinFET process.
The visitors also emphasized: 'Over the past few years, the ASIC market has undergone changes. To achieve differentiated competition, the Internet of Things, communications and some consumer products require unique ASIC solutions. We have seen new opportunities for ASIC development. MediaTek The latest ASIC solutions from the company provide IP-proven silicon with 7nm and 16nm silicon that can be seamlessly integrated into advanced ASIC products.
Become a new engine for future growth
In the past, MediaTek developed an IC that came out to many customers in different homes, and the ASIC chip was an IC developed for a specific customer. Therefore, each developed ASIC chip was only sold to this customer. In this mode, the IC The development cost is even higher. However, the biggest characteristic of this ASIC chip is that it can produce the greatest difference from the average competitor's products. At the same time, the ASIC chip development shows the difference through the service value of the system.
According to visitors, Jie Jie, we can regard the ASIC as the mode of industrial division of labor. Basically, the customer's application to the system can be based on the IP requirements of MediaTek's IP development and become a cooperative mode of horizontal division of labor. , Let's develop the chip to make the product different in application. I think this is the essence of ASIC.
However, the current market does not have an ASIC chip that can absolutely meet the application requirements, and manufacturers need a unique chip to meet market demand. This high-end product requires a lot of R&D cost and time, and the manufacturer needs a trusted long-term partner. It is to see these three points, the reasons for the increasingly strong market demand for ASIC, ASIC chip market will usher in new opportunities for development.
'In recent years, Bitcoin, the rise of the blockchain and the application of AI will drive the ASIC chip to have more than $10 billion in application market space. MediaTek will closely follow this industry trend and connect with it.' To.
MediaTek provides comprehensive ASIC services that can help customers seeking professional design and customized chip design solutions to expand business opportunities in multiple areas. MediaTek ASIC services cover any stage from front-end to back-end - system and platform design, system Single-chip design, system integration and physical layout, production support, and product introduction. At the same time, MediaTek also has the industry's broadest SerDes product portfolio, providing multiple solutions for ASIC design from 10G, 28G, 56G to 112G. Program.
From the perspective of the semiconductor industry, in the next few years, the Internet IT companies will define new intelligent products. Differentiating products will require a reliable ASIC partner to provide customized services. The visitors believe that ASIC will gradually thrive.
In addition, ASIC chips have existed for a long time. MediaTek has combined the experience of SoCs in the past 20 years to advance the research and development of advanced process technology on ASIC chips. In the next 5 years and even 10 years, MediaTek hopes that the ASIC revenue will be comparable. Scale, this will be MediaTek's important new growth engine in the future.
According to the visitors, the first product using MediaTek 56G SerDes IP is already under development. It is expected to be available in the second half of 2018. Next year, MediaTek’s 7nm ASIC chip will be launched.
2. MediaTek will recast the board of directors this year.
According to reports from Taiwan Media, MediaTek’s board of directors is about to re-election this year. The focus of the market is not only the executive who joined the board of directors Cai Lixing last year but also the role of Vice Chairman Xie Qingjiang in the future.
MediaTek suffered market share in recent years, and the bottleneck of gross profit margin and operating profit rate continued to decline. In order to reverse the situation, MediaTek chairman Cai Mingjie invited Cai Lixing to join the business team last year and gave the group vice president, MediaTek director and co-CEO at one go. Three important roles were promoted to executive director of MediaTek last year.
Currently, Dongfa Supervisor of MediaTek includes five directors including Cai Mingjie, Xie Qingjiang, Cai Lixing, Jin Lianxin, and Cai Lixing, and three independent directors including Wu Zhongyu, Zhang Bingheng, and Tang Mingzhe. From the perspective of the ownership structure of MediaTek, foreign shareholding is still maintained. At the highest level, accounting for more than 60%. For example, from the analysis of the shares held by the directors, Cai Mingjie and his wife hold approximately 87,000 shares in MediaTek, holding only 5.5% of the shares, while the remaining supervisors and operating teams hold approximately 8,000 shares. The stock ratio is less than 0.5%, and the total shareholding is about 6%.
Even if MediaTek will re-election to the board of directors this year, as the company's market share in the smart phone market rebounds this year, gross profit margins are slowly increasing, and operations have seen a stabilization and stabilization. This, together with orders for US Apple companies operating, is generally expected. , Cai Lixing’s role in the board of directors will not change.
For Xie Qingjiang, who had served as the general manager of MediaTek for more than ten years, after the organizational adjustment at the end of last year, the position of the general manager was officially handed over to Chen Guanzhou. Xie Qingjiang was the full-time vice chairman and general manager of the Group Office. Subsidiary layout.
As Xie Qingjiang is currently a member of MediaTek's board of directors, with the re-election of the board of directors this year, the outside world is also concerned about Xie Qingjiang's future role change on the board of directors. Legal person's interpretation is that although the shares held by MediaTek Dong Dongxuan are not high, but the right to operate is established. The current transformation strategy continues to advance, including the P60 chip extension market, which is expected to grow substantially this year.
The legal person thinks that the organizational structure will be readjusted. This year, MediaTek will display its first operational transcript after the reform. The key indicators are still the transcripts of market share, gross margin, and operating interest rate 'triple rate'.
Sources pointed out that MediaTek's shipments of smart phone chips in the second quarter increased significantly, and shipments were stronger than expected. It is expected that the shipments of mobile phone chips in the second quarter will exceed 100 million, and the gross profit margin in the second quarter is also expected. It will rebound to more than 37%, plus mid-to-low-end mobile phone chips will be added in the second half of the year. The gross profit rate for the whole year is expected to rise back to above 38%, with annual revenue growth of 6% to 10%, and annual shipments of approximately 460 million units. , an increase of 5.4%.
3. MediaTek Q2 mobile phone chip shipments to see 100 million;
MediaTek benefited from the recovery in non-Hispanic mobile phone demand, with shipments of mobile phone chips in WangQi's second quarter showing a double-digit quarterly increase, with shipments above 100 million.
Benefited from the recovery in non-Hispan camp mobile phone demand, strong demand for mid and low-end handsets, the shipments of Kingband’s Q2 mobile phone chips showed a double-digit quarterly increase. The legal person expects that the 27th law will be expected to release good news, foreign capital betting in advance , Buy over continuously, today's intraday stock price once rose to 373 yuan, or 9.7%, volume increased, the stock hit a record high of nearly two and a half years, MediaTek close at 362 yuan, or 6.47%.
IC Design Leading MediaTek operation is getting better. After launching the Helio P23 chip with a low-cost architecture last year, operations gradually improved, revenues and gross profit margins gradually recovered, followed by successive successes of the P60 chip in the first half of this year, and successively obtained OPPO. Meizu’s big single, MediaTek vows to retire to lose market share target touchdown; In addition, overseas markets have also made good progress, with millet, OPPO and local mobile phone maker Micromax attacking Indian recovery business opportunities, legal person expects shipments of mobile phone chips in the second quarter The increase is expected to show a double digit growth compared to the previous quarter.
The legal person pointed out that MediaTek’s shipments of smart phone chips in the second quarter increased significantly, and shipments exceeded expectations. The shipments of mobile chips in the second quarter are expected to exceed 100 million units, and the second quarter gross profit margin is also expected to rebound. To more than 37%, plus mid-to-low-end mobile phone chips will be added in the second half of the year. The gross profit margin for the whole year is expected to rise back to more than 38%. The annual revenue will grow by 6% to 10%, and the annual shipment volume will be about 460 million units. 5.4% year-on-year increase.
CEO Cai Lixing had previously disclosed the good results of the second quarter vaguely. He believes that the momentum of pulling stocks has been strengthened in March. The second quarter is expected to grow steadily. The outlook for performance is expected to continue to rise, showing a pattern of quarterly highs. Economic Daily
4.21% Q1 electronic product semiconductor revenue reached 111.4 billion US dollars, an increase of 17%;
According to a new report from IHS Markit, as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, semiconductor revenues for electronic devices and devices worldwide reached 111.4 billion U.S. dollars, compared with 95.2 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier. Increased by 17%.
These data come from the latest application market prediction AMFT, which predicts chips containing nearly 100 application device markets, including 50 semiconductor device categories.
Based on the results of the first quarter, the recent volatility of the DRAM market was also weighed. IHS expects that the full-year chip revenue growth in 2018 will be reduced from the original expected 7.5% to 7.2%. However, at the end of the second quarter, This slightly weaker outlook may be improved because of various signs that the semiconductor field has regained its vitality.
The fastest-increasing chip revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was data processing electronics. The main growth drivers in this area include the use of solid state drives (SSD) to replace traditional hard drives on laptops and desktops, and the use of SSDs. The pricing of NAND flash memory has soared. Because there is no movement or the impact of mechanical components is easy to fall or shake, SSD provides faster performance and stronger durability than hard disks.
Semiconductors used in data processing equipment and devices generated revenue of $38.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 19.5% from $32.2 billion in the first quarter of 2017. Data processing market segments include data center servers, workstations, desktops Machines, mobile PCs, tablet computers, DRAM upgrade modules, flat panel displays and data storage devices such as hard disk drives, solid state drives and optical drives.
The second fastest growing market segment is wireline communications. Although revenue in this segment was $5.8 billion for the smallest market, semiconductor revenues used in wireline communications equipment and devices increased by 17.5%. Growth drivers include Security monitoring analysis (threat-mitigation) products, data center network equipment, enterprise Ethernet switches and routers, etc.
Other market segments ranked quarter-over-year, followed by: Consumer electronics growth 16.5%, wireless communications 16.3%, industrial electronics 14.9%, and automobiles 13.9%.
The following table shows semiconductor revenues for electronic devices and devices in 6 industries tracked by AMFT:
Among the electronic devices and devices, wireless communication segment revenue has the highest growth rate among OEMs, which grew from US$55.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017 to US$112 billion in the first quarter of 2018, a growth rate of up to 17%. .
5. Capture Samsung headquarters Apple's former vice president of Samsung is responsible for Korean operations;
According to Bloomberg News on April 24th, Beijing time, Apple has hired a new leader for its Korean business. South Korea is the home base of Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung Electronics, and the country’s regulatory authorities have also made it difficult for Apple to respond.
According to information on the professional social networking site, LinkedIn, former Microsoft vice president Brandon Yoon has joined Apple this month as the general manager of Apple Korea. Apple declined to comment.
For Brandon Yoon, it is not easy to lead Apple's Korean business. Just before the iPhone X was released last year, Apple's office in Seoul was raided by regulators. Recently, the Korean Herald reported that Apple has marketed iPhones. The cost is passed on to South Korean telecom operators who face fines from South Korean regulators.
In 2012, Apple fired a South Korean business executive because of the slow sales of the iPhone. According to a report released by Strategy Analytics, a market research company, Apple’s market share in the smart phone market in South Korea was 18% last year, lagging behind Samsung’s 56%. Earlier this year, Apple opened its first retail store in South Korea.