During the SelectUSA Investment Summit, Governor Eric J. Holcomb and Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers joined Purdue Dean of Engineering Dr. Mung Chiang and executives from MediaTek to announce the company’s plans to create a new chip design center in partnership with Purdue University. The company plans to create new high-paying jobs in Tippecanoe County to support the new center, establishing a new microelectronics ecosystem in West Lafayette.
“As a global company, MediaTek has literally a world of options at its fingertips, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that they’ve chosen Indiana to grow and build the foundation and future of the semiconductor industry alongside the brightest minds in the world,” said Gov. Holcomb. “MediaTek chose a thriving, top-rated university with innovation expertise and a strong talent pipeline that will power these quality careers for decades to come.”
Headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, MediaTek plans to create its new semiconductor design center in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration within the Purdue University Discovery Park District. The company is working with Purdue to establish a partnership for a chip design focus in engineering education, as well as joint research into next-generation computing and communications chip design. This novel partnership in Indiana, MediaTek’s first with a U.S. university, represents a new growth model for MediaTek USA, as most chip design operations are clustered on the coasts.
“We believe strongly that being in Indiana means we’ll have access to some of the best engineering talent in the world,” said Dr. Kou-Hung Lawrence Loh, corporate senior vice president of MediaTek and president of MediaTek USA. “Not just at Purdue, but West Lafayette is only four hours away from nearly a dozen of the top engineering schools in the country. In the post-pandemic world, top candidates tell us they want to be closer to home, near family, and they want to have a real house and great schools. Indiana offers all that and more.”
MediaTek is the world’s fourth largest global semiconductor company, providing chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems and consumer multimedia products.
The idea for the new design center resulted from discussions during Gov. Holcomb and Sec. Chambers’ trip to Silicon Valley in late 2021, convening chip CEOs to pitch Indiana’s commitment to the semiconductor sector. Today’s news also comes on the heels of Indiana’s recent Global Economic Summit where the state launched its Accelerating Microelectronics Production and Development (AMPD) task force to leverage the state’s advanced manufacturing expertise to solve the global chip shortage.
“Today’s MediaTek’s chip design center investment is a testament to Indiana’s advanced manufacturing expertise, our world-class university talent combined with our state’s best in class business-friendly climate and focus on higher wage industries of the future,” said Sec. Chambers. “Our team fully expects that MediaTek’s announcement is just the beginning of semiconductor investment in Indiana, and in the coming years the AMPD task force will be instrumental in facilitating further investment momentum from this critically important industry to the state.”
Founded in 1997 and operating in the U.S. since 2001, MediaTek employs more than 19,000 associates worldwide, including 500 employees in eight different locations along the U.S. coasts. MediaTek will begin hiring in West Lafayette for electrical engineering and chip design positions soon, in addition to the search for an industry-leading technologist to lead the new center. Additional information can be found here.
“Attracting a world-class chip design firm to Indiana has been a longtime goal for our team,” said Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. “I applaud Secretary Chambers, the IEDC and, of course, the whole team here at Purdue for doing the hard work necessary to get a global company to take a look at Indiana and all we have to offer. The MediaTek investment confirms Indiana’s emergence as a center of semiconductor technology, and Purdue’s Discovery Park District as the state’s premier new economic engine.”
Based on the company’s plans to create up to 30 new high-paying positions, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) committed an investment in MediaTek USA Inc. of up to $1.4 million in the form of incentive-based tax credits. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. The Purdue Research Foundation offered additional incentives.
Indiana is home to more than 1,090 foreign-owned business establishments, representing more than 40 countries and territories including nine from Taiwan. In 2021, 47 foreign-owned businesses committed to locating or growing in Indiana.