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Oppo abruptly shuts down chip unit responsible for MariSilicon chips

Oppo has experimented with its own chips in smartphones over the past few years, but it seems that is coming to an end as the company has abruptly shut down its chip design unit.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, Oppo has shut down its chip design subsidiary Zeka. The company announced the closure citing “uncertainties in the global economy and smartphone market.”

Apparently, the closure was handled very abruptly, with employees only learning of the shut down less than a day before Oppo’s public confirmation. One employee cited in the report even said that the shut down was so quick they weren’t allowed to go back into the office to retrieve a laptop. Zeka was also posting ads for new job positions as recently as two weeks ago.

Zeka was the company responsible for Oppo’s specialized chip designs, including the MariSilicon X which appeared in the Oppo Find X5 series. That chip was aimed at improving image processing, and has since appeared in other Oppo flagships. Beyond that, the MariSilicon Y was a chip designed to improve audio handling. Oppo was also rumored to be working towards its own chipset for smartphones, similar to Google’s Tensor. It’s been estimated that Oppo spent over $1.4 billion on chip designs.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


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