Chip demand for smart speakers and other voice-assistant devices has been rising, according to sources at Taiwan-based IC design houses.

Orders for audio chips, audio amplifiers, MEMS microphones and digital-to-analog converters (DAC) continue to pull in driven by robust demand for smart speakers and other voice-assistant devices, said the sources. The visibility of orders will remain clear throughout the first half of 2018.

Mobile SoC specialist MediaTek already saw its shipments for voice-assistant devices ramp up in 2017 which helped offset a slowdown in the growth of its shipments for smartphones, the sources indicated. Growing shipments for voice-assistant devices also enabled MediaTek to start improving the company's overall gross margin in the third quarter of 2017.

MediaTek's shipments for voice-assistant devices are expected to surge over 50% on year in 2018, as the chip firm has obtained orders from the world's leading smart speaker vendors, according to the sources.

MEMS microphone specialists Solid State System (3S) and ZillTek Technology have also enjoyed a pull-in of orders for voice-assistant devices since the second half of 2017, the sources noted.

Realtek Semiconductor is looking to hike shipments of its Dolby sound chip solutions for voice-assistant devices in 2018 which will help improve the company's product ASPs, the sources said.

Meanwhile, audio chip provider C-Media Electronics' sales have been driven by rising demand for headphones for voice-assistant devices since 2018 with January revenues hitting a nearly three-year high, according to the sources.

By: DocMemory
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