MediaTek eyes higher chip sourcing from India

MediaTek, a Taiwan-based semiconductor company, is considering increasing its chip sourcing from India as the local manufacturing ecosystem develops, according to its India managing director Anku Jain.

Jain said the company may shift more assembly or manufacturing to India if local chip production becomes cost-effective and the foundry partners mature.

MediaTek currently holds about 46% of India’s smartphone chipset market.

The company employs over 1,000 engineers in Bengaluru and Noida, focusing mainly on global R&D for computing, connectivity, and AI integration.

Jain noted that India started semiconductor production with less complex nodes, and needs further investment in advanced R&D and talent for cutting-edge chip manufacturing.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

India’s fab partners will determine MediaTek’s sourcing timeline and economics

Local sourcing hinges on which Indian facilities go live, plus timing. Tata Electronics’ Dholera fab (a wafer fabrication plant) targets FY 2029–30 at 28 nm (an older, less complex manufacturing process) with 50,000 wafers per month 1. Micron’s Sanand ATMP aims for late 2025 or early 2026 1. ATMP means Assembly/Testing/Marking/Packaging.
Automotive and data center plans make timing pivotal. SiCSem, a planned silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor fab in Odisha, is slated for 2027–28 1. SiC goes into EVs plus solar inverters 2. Costs also hinge on a domestic pipeline for ultrapure chemicals plus specialty materials 2. Without suppliers meeting semiconductor-grade purity, local sourcing may miss MediaTek’s cost targets 2.

Automotive chip vendors face stringent quality certification requirements as MediaTek enters the sector

MediaTek is moving into automotive platforms 3. Partners will need ISO 26262 (functional safety for road vehicles), IATF 16949 (International Automotive Task Force automotive quality management), and AEC-Q (Automotive Electronics Council qualification) 3.
Indian OSAT providers and component makers that want to supply automotive chips will chase these certifications 3. This opens work for compliance software firms, testing labs, plus training groups 3. India’s automotive semiconductor demand is projected at $6–8 billion in 2025, with growth tied to EVs plus ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) 4. Vendors that lock in IATF 16949 plus ISO 26262 early will be better placed to win share as supply chains localize 4.