MediaTek has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to deliver the first Azure Sphere chip, the MT3620, designed to drive IoT with built-in security and connectivity.
Azure Sphere is a solution for creating highly-secured, connected devices powered by a Microcontroller Unit (MCU).
MediaTek and Microsoft have worked together to develop a specialised chipset with a Wi-Fi connected controller built around a processor designed to run Azure Sphere’s IoT operating system. It also includes built-in support for Microsoft’s latest security protocols. These chipsets will be sold as part of the Azure Sphere solution, enabling customers across a broad set of industries to connect MCU-powered products and devices.
“MediaTek has a long history of working with Microsoft on specific SoC designs that meet demanding connectivity needs,” said Jerry Yu, MediaTek corporate vice president and general manager of the Intelligent Devices Business Group. “On top of our close ties with Microsoft and design expertise, Microsoft had a vision we also believed in. Bringing trust and security into IoT solutions from chip to cloud, to make connected devices practical to sell and manage for businesses and consumers.”
Significant drops in the cost of connectivity mean that billions of MCU-powered devices, from household appliances and health monitors to children’s toys and industrial equipment, will be connected. With more points of connectivity come more points of possible vulnerability, which mean companies and individuals will only take advantage of convenient connected devices if they believe their devices, data and cloud are secure.
“Today, computing is more powerful and ubiquitous from the cloud to the edge. In the next decade we’ll see the democratization of connectivity to billions of devices,” said Galen Hunt, managing director of Azure Sphere at Microsoft.
“Azure Sphere brings together the best of Microsoft’s expertise in cloud, software, and silicon— resulting in a unique approach to security that starts in the silicon and extends to the cloud. MediaTek has worked in close collaboration with us on the silicon aspect of our solution, and we are pleased to share in this announcement of the MT3620, the first Azure Sphere certified chip. What we are delivering together will be the foundation for a new generation of secure intelligent edge devices and solutions.”
MediaTek is currently sampling chips with lead customers and will have broad product availability by Q3 of 2018. For details visit MediaTek’s solution.
