MediaTek applied to the U.S. Department of Commerce for a license to do business with Huawei.
The need for a license arose after recent sanctions by the U.S. government that limited Huawei’s capacity to manufacture the components themselves. If MediaTek does not obtain the exemption, the company will not be able to supply the chips to Huawei after mid-September.
MediaTek has applied to the USA to continue supplying Huawei after September 15
Before the sanctions, the company was one of three global players to equip their smartphones with their own CPUs and GPUs. (The other two companies are actually Apple and Samsung). The Huawei Kirin processor line was designed by its HiSilicon division and manufactured by TSMC until the U.S. government imposed sanctions.
According to earlier reports from Sina Technology, Huawei ordered approximately 120 million chips from MediaTek this year for use in their devices. Following the harsh sanctions, Huawei also intensified efforts to develop a proprietary semiconductor manufacturing facility that does not use U.S.-origin technology.
According to MediaTek, the company will comply with the U.S. sanctions and deliver the chips to Huawei by September 14. If its license application is not approved by the U.S. government by then, Huawei will be in serious trouble.