Zeku, an Oppo chip subsidiary located in Shanghai, will be shut down as a result of “uncertainty in the global economy and the smartphone industry,” the company stated. The MariSilicon family of chips, which comprised the MariSilicon X ISP and MariSilicon Y audio chip, were created by the semiconductor design business.
Oppo began manufacturing chips in 2019 and created its own co-processors, ISPs, modems, power management, and audio chips. According to rumors, Oppo spent more than $1.4 billion on its chipset development division.
One of the top Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Oppo placed fourth in first-quarter worldwide shipments. However, Oppo shipments have suffered as the smartphone market has shrunk, plunging 22% last year to 103 million devices, according to statistics from IDC.
In order to create processors for its devices, Oppo founded Zeku in 2019. The action was comparable to what Huawei Technologies, a competitor, had previously taken with its subsidiary HiSilicon. Xiaomi and other Chinese smartphone manufacturers have also launched their own chip businesses.