MediaTek collaborates with Microsoft for IoT

MediaTek today announced that they are collaborating with Microsoft to deliver the first ever Azure Sphere chip, the MT3620 that will drive IoT innovation with built-in security and connectivity.

Azure Sphere is a solution for creating highly-secured, connected MCU powered devices at a price that makes enterprise-class security affordable for the multitude of cloud connected devices.

MediaTek and Microsoft have worked together to develop a specialized chipset with a Wi-Fi connected controller built around a processor designed to run Azure Sphere’s IoT operating system. It also includes built-in support for Microsoft’s latest unparalleled security protocols. These chipsets will be sold as part of the Azure Sphere solution, enabling customers across a broad set of industries to easily connect their MCU powered products and devices with confidence that they are protected and secured by Microsoft.

Jerry Yu, MediaTek Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Intelligent Devices Business Group, MediaTek said, “On top of our close ties with Microsoft and design expertise, Microsoft had a vision we also believed in. Bringing trust and security into IoT solutions from chip to cloud, to make connected devices practical to sell and manage for businesses and consumers.”

Galen Hunt, Managing Director, Azure Sphere, Microsoft said, “Azure Sphere brings together the best of Microsoft’s expertise in cloud, software, and silicon— resulting in a unique approach to security that starts in the silicon and extends to the cloud. MediaTek has worked in close collaboration with us on the silicon aspect of our solution, and we are pleased to share in this announcement of the MT3620, the first Azure Sphere certified chip. What we are delivering together will be the foundation for a new generation of secure intelligent edge devices and solutions.”

More than nine billion microcontroller-powered devices are entering the market annually, which makes it critical that, industry leaders such as Microsoft and MediaTek work together to ensure every connected device, regardless of price point, has the highest level of security embedded.

With Azure Sphere, Microsoft is building a new ecosystem, which consists of silicon vendors, original device manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers from a broad range of industries. As a group, they understand the opportunities and risks associated with the growing number of IoT devices and applications and have banded together to ensure that security standards are developed and upheld.

MediaTek is now sampling chips with lead customers and will have broad product availability by Q3 of 2018.