SAO PAULO, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In Sao Paulo, March 13, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (USI) and ASUS, highlighted their collaboration to grow the mobile and semiconductor industry in Brazil by announcing the commercial launch of the ASUS Zenfone Max Shot and Zenfone Max Plus (M2), the world's first smartphones with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ System in Package (SiP) 1, a cellular SiP technology. The first commercial multi-chip semiconductor designed in Brazil, Snapdragon SiP is engineered to help to enable design efficiencies, reduce development costs and accelerate time to commercialization for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), leading to robust and sleek designs to enrich the consumer experience.
Snapdragon SiP is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies, USI and Brazil federal government, who have been working together to lay the foundation and foster the growth of the semiconductor industry in Brazil. Building on the heritage of cutting-edge solutions from Qualcomm Technologies, Snapdragon SiP integrates many components normally part of the Company's Snapdragon Mobile Platforms, including the application processor, power management, RF front end, and audio codec, into a single semiconductor system in package, leading to more space for additional components such as cameras or battery, as well as thinner form factors. These products are designed to help dramatically simplify the device engineering and manufacturing processes and provide cost and development time savings to OEMs and IoT device manufacturers.
"Qualcomm Technologies platforms and solutions continue to support and accelerate the mobile industry and beyond," said Cristiano Amon, president, Qualcomm Incorporated. "Snapdragon SiP is designed to offer the connectivity, security and accessibility that our customers need to create innovative products and superior user experiences, and I am proud to see the first Snapdragon SiP devices become available in the country of Brazil from ASUS."
"We are excited to collaborate with Qualcomm, USI and Brazil federal government to launch the ZenFone Max Shot and ZenFone Max Plus (M2) as the world's first smartphones with Snapdragon SiP that are making a debut in Brazil. At ASUS, user experience is always our first priority. We want to make sure that we provide the best products and most unique experiences to meet the specific demands of consumers in Brazil," says S.Y Hsu, ASUS co-CEO.
"This initiative is a promising way to boost scientific innovation in the country, considering that the entire value chain starts with research and development of new technologies, making it possible to develop smartphones and IoT products in Brazil, products that can be used in many different verticals. The smartphone launched today reflects the vocation of the country to foster technological development that can be truly applied with the objective of making lives better," says the Minister of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications, Marcos Pontes.
Factory venue announcement
During the launch event of the new mobile devices, the joint venture Semicondutores Avancados do Brasil S. A., formed by Qualcomm Technologies and USI, announced that Jaguariuna in the State of Sao Paulo, is the city where the Snapdragon SiP factory is expected to be built. This production is expected to begin in 2020 and should employ between 800 and 1,000 people with an estimated investment of $ 200 million over five-years.
"The Snapdragon SiP is an important product to include Brazil into the global semiconductor value chain and, building on the formation of the joint venture between Qualcomm Technologies and USI, we will work together to enable the country to add qualified jobs and acquire development expertise to its professional workforce through the planned factory in Jaguariuna. In addition to smartphones, Snapdragon SiP is designed to power IoT devices as well, contributing to the development of the Internet of Things business in the country," said Rafael Steinhauser, senior vice president, Qualcomm Servicos de Telecomunicacoes Ltda., and president, Qualcomm Latin America.
"As Brazil demonstrates significant growth potential for integrated semiconductor SIPs, USI believes that our experience in miniaturization technology will be very important to make this project a success," said Mr. CY Wei, president, USI. "Following the announcement of our joint venture with Qualcomm Technologies earlier last year, we are excited to be part of the value chain in the development and manufacturing of this SIP. This commercial launch lays the foundation for the products that will be manufactured by the joint venture in the continuing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to install a semiconductor SIP factory in Jaguariúna and create highly qualified jobs in Brazil," he added.
The governor Joao Doria emphasizes the importance of the project to the State of Sao Paulo. "It is quite significant to be able to host in the state a factory that will produce cutting-edge technology. This is a clear demonstration that the government is in tune with global trends and working to insert Brazil into the high-density semiconductor chain. Like any major enterprise, it will be a pole of employment and income generation, but in this case, we are talking about the formation of highly specialized labor," he says. "It is an honor to have at our side a company that bets on innovation, because this collaboration can boost the economic development of the country," he adds.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world computes, connects and communicates. When we connected the phone to the Internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our inventions are the foundation for life-changing products, experiences, and industries. As we lead the world to 5G, we envision this next big change in cellular technology spurring a new era of intelligent, connected devices and enabling new opportunities in connected cars, remote delivery of health care services, and the IoT -- including smart cities, smart homes, and wearables. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, the QCT semiconductor business. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
About ASUS
ASUS is one of Fortune magazine's World's Most Admired Companies, and is dedicated to creating products for today and tomorrow's smart life. Our comprehensive portfolio includes Zenbo, ZenFone, ZenBook and a range of IT devices and components, along with AR, VR and IoT. ASUS employs more than 16,000 people worldwide and over 5,000 world-class R&D talents. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, the company won 4,511 awards and earned approximately US$13 billion of revenue in 2017. ASUS Brazil branch office was established in 2008 and it is home to more than 200 employees.
About USI
USI, Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., provides design, miniaturization, material sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and after services of electronic devices/modules for brand owners. USI is a member of ASE Technology Holding and has been listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2012 (SSE: 601231). It has many years of experience in the electronics manufacturing services industry and leverages the industry-leading technology of ASE Group, which enables USI to offer customer diversified products in the sectors of wireless communication, computer and storage, consumer, industrial, and automotive electronics worldwide. Through the sales service network in North America, Europe, Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, and manufacturing sites in Mainland China, Taiwan, Mexico and Poland. USI has about 18,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the website www.usish.com.
Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.
Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Qualcomm Contacts:
Pete Lancia, Corporate Communications
Phone: +1-858-845-5959
email: corpcomm@qualcomm.com
John Sinnott, Investor Relations
Phone: +1-858-658-4813
email: ir@qualcomm.com
USI Contact
Sherry Wang, Investor Relations
Phone: +86-21-5896-8418
email: public@usiglobal.com
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