MediaTek is gearing up to expand its businesses in AI, automotive electronics and ASIC sectors, internally dubbed as the "3A" plan, seeking to reverse in 2019 its two consecutive years of revenue declines, according to industry sources.

The global mobile phone market will continue facing headwinds, with sales volume likely to shrink 5-10% on year in 2019. As handset chip solutions still command nearly 50% of MediaTek's annual revenues, revenue growth will be a goal hard to achieve, the sources commented.

MediaTek is determined to carry out the "3A" plan thoroughly in the hope that expansions in the three business segments can bring brand-new revenue growth momentum.

After incorporating AI functions into its Helio series mobile chip platforms in 2018, MediaTek will integrate in 2019 its in-house-developed NPU hardware architecture and optimal algorithms into new-generation chipset solutions for TV, network communications, IoT, automotive electronics and smart speaker applications.

At the just-concluded CES 2019, customers were surprised to find MediaTek's new-generation edge AI chip solutions can fully replace cloud AI applications, enhancing their willingness to adopt new offerings, the sources said.

In demonstrating its determination to foray into the global automotive electronics market, MediaTek also debuted at the show its latest technologies for its automotive chip brand platform Autus, bringing innovative solutions to the auto industry in four major areas - in-vehicle communication systems, in-vehicle infotainment systems, vision advanced driver assistance systems, and mmWave radar solutions.

In the ASIC segment, MediaTek, after having its first crypto mining ASIC fabricated by TSMC on 7nm process in 2018, has decided to expand ASIC offerings, particularly for datacenter applications, in 2019.

The company expects the "3A" plan to get a good start in the first quarter of the year, the sources said.