MediaTek Teams Up with US University on Chip Design Centre

MediaTek HQ in Taipei.

Taiwan’s MediaTek, the world’s fourth-largest chip designer by revenue, will create a new design centre to be located in the US state of Indiana, working with Purdue University.

MediaTek makes processors for Android phones and smart speakers. The company declined to put a price tag on the deal, but did say it will receive a $1.4 million grant from the state of Indiana to fund it. Purdue University said the centre will be located on its campus in a separate announcement.

“Being in Indiana means we’ll have access to some of the best engineering talent in the world,” said Kou-Hung Lawrence Loh, corporate senior vice president of MediaTek and president of MediaTek USA, in the statement.

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The company said it will hire engineers from top schools in Indiana and nearby states into position that normally would be located in California or the Northeast.

MediaTek also said it plans to endow a professorship at Purdue to compete for federal research grants, a funding source that could see a large boost if a bill to support the chip industry is passed by US Congress.

The announcement comes after the US Department of Commerce announced that Taiwan’s GlobalWafers will build a $5 billion silicon wafer plant in Sherman, Texas.

Reuters, with editing by Neal McGrath

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Neal McGrath

Neal McGrath is a New York-based financial journalist. Neal started his career covering the Asia-Pacific region for the Economist Intelligence Unit, then joined Asian Business magazine. He's subsequently held a variety of editorial positions covering business, economics, finance and sustainability. Neal has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and the US.