Narayan AmmachchiQualcomm Technologies and Taiwan’s ASE group have teamed up with trade and technology-related agencies within Brazil’s federal government to produce semiconductor chips used widely in IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
The consortium will pour US$200 million into a high-tech manufacturing plant in Campinas, a city in the northwest of São Paulo.
The Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) and the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC) are part of the consortium, with the Brazilian Development Bank being the chief financier.
“This agreement is particularly important at this time, as the economy starts breathing again and Brazil is in need of investments. We will enter a phase of economic growth and upturn in unemployment” said President Michel Temer in a press release, also revealing that the plant will generate 1,200 jobs.
The chipsets will be used in devices such as 4G and 5G smartphones in addition to IoT devices.
Qualcomm and ASE say they will train Brazilian engineers abroad and bring professionals from their own factories to the country.
Qualcomm has a wide footprint in Brazil. Over the past two years, it has been running a venture capital fund to finance technology startups in the South American country.
The companies reportedly chose Campinas because of Sao Paulo state’s existing semiconductor ecosystem and local government incentives.
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