OPPO closes chip design subsidiary amid slump in semiconductor market
Smartphone maker OPPO has closed its subsidiary Zekun, which specializes in chip design, as the semiconductor market goes through a severe downturn, media reported on Friday.
According to the South China Morning Post , OPPO announced the move in a brief statement, calling it a “difficult decision” and blaming “uncertainty in the global economy and smartphone market.”
Zeku workers have been given less than a day’s notice to close the unit, according to the report.
The global technology brand founded Zeku in 2019 to design chips that could be used in its devices. Other smartphone manufacturers, including Xiaomi, have also established their own chip designs.
The move comes as chip manufacturing has been severely affected in China by escalating US export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.
According to Wei Shaojun, director of integrated circuit design at the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), of the 3,243 fairy-tale chip companies operating in China last year, only 566 had sales of more than 100 million yuan ($14.4 million), the report said.
Global semiconductor revenue is forecast to decline 11.2 percent to $532 billion in 2023, and the short-term outlook for the semiconductor market has continued to deteriorate.
In 2022, the market totaled $599.6 billion, a marginal 0.2 percent increase from 2021, according to Gartner’s latest forecast.
The semiconductor market for PCs, tablets and smartphones has stagnated. The combined market will represent 31 percent of semiconductor revenue in 2023 and total $167.6 billion.
Read all the Latest Tech News here.
