MediaTek Inc. released software tools to help make home appliances and garage doors controllable through Apple Inc.’s iPhones as the chipmaker taps the burgeoning market for Internet-connected homes.

Development kits for Apple’s HomeKit platform will help electronics makers integrate MediaTek processors into their smart appliances, the Taiwanese company said in a statement Wednesday.

MediaTek, which competes with Qualcomm Inc. to supply the chips that power smartphones, is facing declining sales amid a weakening mobile device market and stiffer competition. MediaTek’s plans for broadening its revenue base include a bid for Taiwanese chip designer Richtek Technology Corp. and investments in companies such as People Power Co. that focus on the so-called Internet of Things.

“The biggest opportunity is still the mobile business, but mobile will ultimately become stagnant,” Jeffrey Ju, vice president of MediaTek’s wireless communication group, said in an interview in London. “In this industry, we think about the Internet of things -- whether it’s smart home, wearables -- for semiconductors, that’s next.”

Once the world’s largest maker of DVD chips, MediaTek displaced Qualcomm to land orders to supply chips for Amazon.com Inc.’s Fire TV box, which will be released next week.

Apple unveiled HomeKit last year as a platform for iPhones and iPads to connect with accessories in the home, allowing hardware and app developers to turn those mobile devices into controllers of tea kettles, thermostats and even window shades. More than 29 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020 for a total market size of $1.7 trillion, according to researcher IDC.

“It’s not really about the devices it’s about getting the system to work,” Chief Marketing Officer Johan Lodenius said in a separate interview. “We have to make it easier to use. It has to be very intuitive.”

By: DocMemory
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