By Gabby Chen

(JW Insights) May 12 -- OPPO, the Chinese smartphone giant, closed its chip design unit ZEKU (哲库科技) as the uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone industry, announced the company in a statement on May 12.

OPPO stated the move is the company’s strategic adjustments for long-term development. It will properly arrange related matters while continuing to provide high-quality products and value to its customers.

OPPO established its chipmaking subsidiary ZEKU in 2019, with the aim of increasing self-reliance in target devices. Its products cover core application processors, short-range communication, 5G Modem, radio frequency, ISP, and power management chips.

In 2021, OPPO launched its first in-house chip MariSilicon X - an ISP chip for enhanced imaging capabilities. By the end of 2022, OPPO released its second chip MariSilicon Y, a Bluetooth audio processing chip for headphones, said the previous JW insights reports.