Intel’s foundry business strikes MediaTek chip production deal – TechCrunch

Intel’s on-going push to regain traction in chip manufacturing scored a nice vote of confidence this week, as Taiwan’s MediaTek agree to a “strategic partnership” with the company. The deal finds MediaTek utilizing the Intel Foundry Services process to produce future chips, as the company looks to broaden its global manufacturing footprint.

Intel has been pushing to increase its own chip production in the United States, including the upcoming opening of a massive facility outside of Columbus, Ohio. As of last year, more than 60% of the global foundry revenue was based in Taiwan alone. These past few years have demonstrated precisely why concentrating some much important production in a single geographic locale can be downright disastrous.

While it’s true that actions taken now will likely have little impact on the current chip shortage, it’s not difficult to imagine global crises becoming more norm that exception in the coming years.

Intel launched IFS last year in a bid to take advantage of that demand, and while the specifics of the deal have not been disclosed, a major partner like MediaTek – at very least – a sign that things are moving in the right direction for the new service.

“MediaTek has long adopted a multi-sourcing strategy. We have an existing 5G data card business partnership with Intel, and now extend our relationship to manufacturing smart edge devices through Intel Foundry Services,” MediaTek Senior Vice President NS Tsai said in a release. “With its commitment to major capacity expansions, IFS provides value to MediaTek as we seek to create a more diversified supply chain. We look forward to building a long-term partnership to serve the fast-growing demand for our products from customers across the globe.”

The deal could also help move the needle on the $52 billion chip manufacturing subsidies bill set for a final vote in the Senate this week.