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Car giant Geely’s new smartphone venture closes chip unit, underscoring difficulties in China’s self-sufficiency drive
- Xingji Meizu Group, established by carmaker Geely in March, is closing its chip research team, according to Chinese media
- Its dissolution comes just months after Chinese smartphone giant Oppo in May dissolved its chip design subsidiary Zeku
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The consumer electronics arm of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has disbanded its chip research team, becoming the second casualty among smartphone-related ventures that have heeded Beijing’s call for semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Xingji Meizu Group, established only in March, said it made the decision “in the face of uncertainties in the global economic environment” and would focus more on product innovation and software user experience from now on, according to reports by local media outlets including the state-run Securities Times and business news website Jiemian.
The firm’s chip team was said to be employing some 200 people, including 40 fresh graduates.
Xingji Meizu did not immediately respond to a request for additional comments on Wednesday.
Formed after Geely subsidiary Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology acquired Zhuhai-based smartphone brand Meizu last summer, Xingji Meizu specialises in smartphones, extended reality and other “forward-looking technologies” such as chips and operating systems, according to the company website.
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