Fabless semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek has been dabbling in some pretty interesting avenues in 2023. Not only did they come out with their latest flagship smartphone chipset – the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ – but they also announced their own iteration of 2-way satellite communication, the brand new Dimensity Auto platform, and more. I recently had the opportunity to converse with Mr Anku Jain, Managing Director of MediaTek India, about the latest developments at MediaTek. He gave us the lowdown on the new announcements and also spoke about the global chip shortage, 5G and 6G R&D, Edge AI, and much more!
Digit: As was shown at MWC 2023 recently, MediaTek has been putting in some serious R&D into developing two-way satellite connectivity in smartphones. So, how do you think this will change the roadmap of smartphone communication or communication, in general, in the future?
Anku Jain: Yeah, I think you're starting with one of the most exciting topics about satellite communication. And as you rightly put it, this was announced at MWC 2023. It was one of the most prominent launches that we showcased at this event. And our chipset, it's called MT6825. It is MediaTek's two-way satellite communications chipset based on 3GPP non-terrestrial network. And what this does is it fills the gap in mobile coverage, provides reliable connectivity in remote locations. Because as I think in India itself, 5G got launched last October. But the coverage will take time. And still, even once the coverage is finished, we will still have some remote locations which will not have coverage. And similarly, in the rest of the world, we always have locations like middle of the ocean or maybe remote mountains and so on. And I think our lifestyle has become such that we always need to be connected. The satellite communications chipset will actually help in that direction. Because it will help users to be always connected. And I think the biggest application would be in smartphones for sure. But also in maybe IoT applications. So it's not only for smartphones. And MediaTek would target both the IoT NTN and also the new radio NTN technology based on 3GPP release 17. So it is really a very, very exciting and a huge step for MediaTek. And we are really looking forward to it. And we'll see how the absorption happens going forward.
Digit: So as I understand, this is a two-way satellite connection and not just one way. So what are some of the advantages of having two-way connectivity?
Anku Jain: So two-way actually gives major benefits like not only for smartphones. Again, smartphones is given. I mean, we can talk, we can have a video call and so on. But also it has benefits for things like agriculture, logistics, forestry, and automotive. Because as I said earlier, there are two aspects to this. One is the new radio NTN and one is IoT NTN. So for IoT, that will be really something which will help in text transfer, which has low data requirements. But the new radio will be able to support video call, etc. And so this is evolving and I think more and more use cases are coming up. And definitely we will be going forward with some announcements going forward.
Digit: So in your opinion, has the global chip shortage ended? And what are your thoughts on the post-pandemic recovery of smartphone chip manufacturers like yourself? And also, how do you ensure that chip shortage doesn't dampen user confidence?
Anku Jain: Yeah, I think this has been a hot topic for the last two years. Fortunately, if I go into the past, we have been able to manage this situation quite well. Because we have had a very good relationship with our foundry partners and also we were able to have a good balance of supply and demand with our customers. We were able to go along very well with our customers and ensure that their requirements were met. In fact, in the last three years, our revenue has actually increased a lot in spite of the chip shortage. But going forward, I think this is something which is behind us. The chip shortage actually is something which is more or less solved now. I think we don't see that the issues or challenges we saw in the last two years will remain going forward.
Digit: Speaking about challenges, what are some of the main challenges of the semiconductor industry and how is MediaTek addressing these?
Anku Jain: First of all, the semiconductor industry has become the backbone of whatever we are doing around us. The equipment that we use at home, like the routers, the TV, the smartphones, the Chromebooks, there are so many different types of devices we use and all that uses semiconductor. So it's a very, very exciting industry. And all these devices which I mentioned are all powered by MediaTek. So it is something which is really very, very cutting edge technology for our digitalization which has happened in the past few years. And going forward, it's going to be increased further. But I think there are some challenges. I think the semiconductor industry has challenges like, if we leave it on the chip shortage issue which is past us, but there are always macro cycles which happen. Right now, if you see as a macro situation globally, there is some moderation of businesses everywhere. So that is one challenge which the semiconductor industry is facing and they are part of that industry.
But if you look at maybe a longer term view, I think the challenges involve things like skill shortage. Because as we see more and more penetration of semiconductor, I think everyone is going to use semiconductor in some way. So there will be an explosion of requirements of the company, whatever chipsets we are making, etc. And also the skills are required to support that. And of course, the other challenge is that this industry has a very short lifecycle. So if you see the devices that we have at home or in our hands, the replacement cycle is quite fast. And also the innovation is required because I said it's cutting edge. So even though we are talking about 5G right now, we are already working on 6G, which is going to happen a few years from now. So we are always on our toes to make sure the innovation is up to speed. So that's also a challenge because we have to keep investing in our innovations. And it's a very, very R&D intensive and investment intensive industry. So these are some of the challenges. I think they are happy challenges. I think I won't complain. It really keeps us on our toes and we always want to take the next step.
Digit: So one of the challenges actually in all battery-powered devices like our smartphones is that efficiency gains are always done at semiconductor level and never so much in terms of the battery itself. So why is it so difficult to innovate for battery tech?
Anku Jain: So, the battery itself, we have heard issues like battery powered devices efficiency issues and heating issues. So that is definitely not nothing much to do with semiconductor. That's something to do with maybe the battery quality or the way it is, maybe the equipment being used to charge the battery is not good enough. But from the semiconductor point of view, we also play a big role. Like, you know, we have an artificial intelligence that we use to ensure that batteries are charged properly and it's used in a very efficient manner so that we are able to control the thermal aspects and the charging aspects of the battery. So that is what we are doing. But also, you know, chipset is the other thing we have is like if I talk about our latest chipset for smartphone, which is the Dimensity 9200+, that is using 4 nanometer process for manufacturing the chip. So that has inherent power efficiency achievements. So that is, from a semiconductor point of view or a chipset point of view, we ensure that we are using the state of the art nodes for our flagship products so that the battery life is enhanced.
Digit: You actually spoke about your latest launch, the Dimensity 9200+ SoC. Can you tell us more about the architecture of this chip and how it will push performance further in the smartphone market?
Anku Jain: So, you know, the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ is our greatest and the latest chipset that we launched and it's going to power very awesome phones very soon. And so it has, you know, multiple aspects, right. First of all, it is built on 4 nanometer process that itself brings a lot of efficiency and a lot of computing power in the hands of the user. And apart from that, it has great multimedia qualities, great camera support. And so I think the end user experience will be really awesome.
Digit: Can you tell us about some of the gains in performance in terms of stats, if you have those numbers on hand right now?
Anku Jain: Yeah, so it has things like MediaTek Imagiq 790. That helps in the display, you know, awesome displays for the user. It has the Hyper Engine 6.0 technology for gaming. So, you know, all these phones are really multi-purpose right now, these days, right? So it is catering to the business users and also to the gamers and so on. So Hyper Engine 6.0 helps in the gaming aspect of it. And it has the APU, the latest APU chipset, a part of it and so on. So I think there are multiple, you know, parameters which are making it really a very, very great chipset.
Digit: This is a bit of a diversion. What are the advantages of Edge AI and how will it impact the mobile computing industry in a positive manner? Can you elaborate on that?
Anku Jain: Yeah, so for Edge AI, you know, so AI can happen on the cloud or it can happen on the Edge. So Edge AI, what it does is that it kind of removes the need for all this connectivity to be there, right? And a lot of computing happens on the Edge, which is on the device itself. And that has, you know, many, many inherent advantages. For example, if there is no connection or no connectivity required, then it is able to have more security aspects, right? Because it doesn't need to communicate and everything is happening on the Edge. So it has a lot of security aspects and it has better response time. Because, you know, there's no lag and there's no need for the communication to happen with the server or with the cloud. Right. So these are some of the things which can happen and our chipsets are able to support this Edge AI aspect. And it really helps in real-time immediacy. It reduces the latency because of no requirement to communicate with the cloud. Use cases would be like real-time analytics can be supported? High performance computing at the Edge really helps in that aspect. And as I mentioned earlier, data privacy and low power consumption, etc. will also happen with this.
Digit: So, of course, you spoke about 5G. It's becoming more and more prevalent in the Indian market. How does MediaTek plan to differentiate itself in this market? And can you elaborate on MediaTek's 5G and maybe even 6G roadmap?
Anku Jain: So one thing, you know, our MediaTek motto has always been democratizing power, commuting power in the hands of the user, right? So one thing we have made sure is that we are able to cater to the entire segment of users, you know, from the mainstream to the premium to the flagship. So we have let's say a gamut of chipsets, 5G chipsets, which we call Dimensity series of chipsets, which is, you know, starting from Dimensity 700, then 900, 1000, and up to 8100. And I think we launched 7200 recently. And also we talked about 9200, right? So there's a huge range of chipsets that we have. And what that does is that it gives a lot of choices to our customers, OEM partners who can actually use the chipset that, you know, satisfies their customer needs, right? So that is one thing which we will continue. I think you'll see more and more launches going forward.
And secondly, you know, I already talked about a 4 nanometer process for the latest chipset that we have. That brings its own advantages in commuting power and battery efficiency. I think we will continue in this direction. I think 5G has a long way to go in India. We started just in October, although the devices got launched much earlier. We are going to see more and more of this 4G to 5G transition. And that's why we are very, very excited about this 5G technology. And I think still, I think by the end of this year, the whole country will be covered by 5G, right? I think Reliance launched that during the October speech. And also by early October Airtel will be also done with that. So I think the whole country will actually be able to take advantage of this technology.
So this is about smartphones, but 5G would also help in industry 4.0, for example? Because it provides connectivity, right? So if you have an industry setting where some sensors are there and they need to communicate to an intelligent server which needs to decide, maybe take some action, or maybe a preventive action or checking some parameters and so on. So that also will have 5G component, right? So industry 4.0, etc, will also have a lot of use cases for 5G. And specifically for India, I think fixed wireless access will have a great use case. So if you see our rural areas in the country, they, many of them don't have broadband connectivity because the fiber was not late so far, right? So the 5G will then be able to provide that connectivity and let all the users be able to enjoy the broadband speeds, even though they are in rural settings. So there are, I think a lot of use cases. So very, very excited about that.
Digit: So does MediaTek plan on sourcing chips in India locally in the future? And do you have any comment about the country's PLI scheme for semiconductor manufacturing and how you could better work with the industry partners in this direction?
Anku Jain: Yeah, I think this is, again, this has been a very hot topic last one year. And I think the government has done a fabulous job in creating this ecosystem because it's it's not only about fab, you know, foundry itself, I think that's the huge step which is going to happen. Right. Apart from that, you know, in the last four, five years, a lot of groundwork has been put in. You know, we had PLI scheme for smartphone manufacturing and other components and other electronic products. So that has slowly and steadily created that ecosystem, which is necessary for the whole industry to flourish. Of course, the PLI scheme for the fab manufacturing is the kind of the last step, right. Which is we are really waiting with bated breath, right. When that happens. So, but it is looking very, very exciting and very, very feasible that it is going to happen. I think our country really had some false starts maybe a few years ago, but this time it's looking really, you know, it is looking very serious intent and things are going to work out definitely.
And I think the other question about what is Mediatek take on it. So indirectly we benefit a lot. As in when this semiconductor ecosystem builds up, it's a great advantage for Mediatek, although Mediatek is a fabless company. So we do not manufacture chipsets on our own. And we do leverage our partners, foundry partners to make it for us. But, you know, whenever this happens in India, I think it'll be a great thing for us to look at and we'll see if that is able to satisfy our needs, which I'm sure it will. And especially for the mature nodes, that's where I think the manufacturing will start in India first. And we will look at that time, how that kind of gels well with our requirements.
Digit: Mediatek also recently announced Dimensity Auto for its new automotive platform. Can you please tell our viewers about this as well?
Anku Jain: Yeah. So that was one great announcement we made recently. Mediatek is actually committed to investing in innovative automotive technology as well. One thing about automotive is it has to meet automotive grade reliability standards because we have to, it has to be like 100 percent reliable. Right. We cannot have any two ways about that. So Mediatek portfolio for this automotive will consist of Dimensity Auto Cockpit, Dimensity Auto Connect, Dimensity Auto Drive, and also Dimensity Auto Components. So maybe I'll talk about these briefly. And so talking about Dimensity Auto Cockpit and infotainment system features, it is going to rely on Mediatek's high performance AI multi processors and also Mediatek's mirror vision, you know, whatever multimedia capabilities that Mediatek has, a lot of those will be kind of leveraged in this as well. For Dimensity Auto Cockpit and infotainment features. So things like mirror vision, HDR cameras, dedicated DSP for microphone, audio processing. So all these aspects will be great technologies, which we already have and which we can use the leverage for this aspect.
Then for Dimensity Auto Connect, that'll be through the NTN satellite communication, which we mentioned earlier. So that will enable always connected vehicle and combine it will combine high speed telematics in the car and top performance Wi-Fi networking as well. And it will support high interoperability and coexistence of multiple wireless network standards. So that's about the Dimensity Auto Connect.
And finally, about Dimensity Auto Drive and Dimensity Auto Components, it will have enables features like ADAS. I think we have heard a lot about ADAS recently in India as well. So it will enable ADAS solutions and provide a scalable and comprehensive open platform to provide partners with intelligent assist and autonomous driving solutions. So it's going to be really something which is going to power the next few years. Right. And I think the industry is just starting out, you know, overall globally. And there are a lot of innovations which we will see in the cars. And that's what that's the reason that we announced these auto technologies.
Digit: I have one last question. In the last year, you can take 2022 as well. What has been one technology that has wowed you completely?
Anku Jain: That's a tough question. You know, from MediaTek point of view, I think I would say the 5G itself is a very awesome technology, which I can keep talking about. But, you know, I touched about some topics earlier. But this is going to revolutionise the way we work. And if you look at the Indian ecosystem, you know, we have like 100 unicorns in the startup ecosystem and they have so far relied on 4G. So this 5G will unleash a new wave of innovations. And I think that's where we will see in the next few years startups which are going to create new use cases, which we don't we're not aware of right now. Right. But they will create use cases which are going to leverage 5G and they cannot really work well on 4G. So we always discuss about, you know, what's going to be a great killer application 5G. But that's one aspect which will happen. You know, startups will actually innovate. You know, we have so many budding startups. So that'll happen. So I would say 5G itself is something we were waiting for so long. But I think finally it happened last year in India. And that is absolutely awesome.
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Dhriti Datta
Perpetually sporting a death stare, this one can be seen tinkering around with her smartphone which she holds more dear than life itself and stuffing her face with copious amounts of bacon. View Full Profile
