Jul 21, 2015 - 6:00 PM

TAIWAN, Hsinchu– July, 21 2015 – MediaTek, a global leader in fabless semiconductor design, and Telefónica, one of the largest telecommunications providers globally, today announce their collaboration in Telefónica’s Labs initiative. The agreement will allow for the development of a Lab, a temporary innovation cell co-hosted by MediaTek Labs, which will allow ten engineering students from leading Spanish universities to work at MediaTek’s R&D offices in Cambridge, United Kingdom, from September through December of 2015.

Members of the Lab will be coached through a number of tasks, including developing demonstrations for key tradeshows, working on new proof-of-concepts for IoT and Wearable devices built using MediaTek LinkIt™ development platforms, learning how to produce innovative Android applications using MediaTek’s 3D graphics SDK, testing, technology benchmarking, and creating digital content in Spanish and English. This collaboration is an important milestone since it marks the first time in which a Lab will be held outside Spain.

Labs are temporary innovation cells composed of multidisciplinary teams that work within companies and organizations on specific challenges posed by new technologies and the digital revolution. Labs builds on the existing Talentum Startups program, part of Telefonica’s Open Future open innovation initiative, that seeks to foster entrepreneurship, innovation, new technologies and the development of young talent by offering opportunities for students and/or new graduates to work in high innovation environments, either on existing projects or developing their own.

“Since their inception in 2014, more than 15 projects have been carried out through the Labs initiative with 150 high-potential students participating in them. MediaTek’s participation in the program will allow Labs to extend the international reach of the program and expose more students to international work experience and technology innovation,” said Carlos Lopez Blanco, Global Head of Public Affairs and Regulation, Telefónica.

“MediaTek Labs believes that students are one of the groups at the forefront of emerging technology innovation and an important source of entrepreneurship,” said Marc Naddell, Vice President of MediaTek Labs. “In collaboration with Telefónica, we are excited to support the next generation of creative and driven pioneers to work on interesting new prototype devices and applications using MediaTek technologies.”

Through the Labs initiative, MediaTek Labs seeks to share MediaTek’s 18-year heritage of innovation in the broader electronics value chain and product solutions. MediaTek Labs is a comprehensive developer hub that gives the maker and developer communities the support they need to develop innovative hardware and software solutions based on MediaTek products. From smart light bulbs, to the next-generation of fitness trackers, to smart watches, MediaTek Labs is a robust ecosystem supporting device creation and application development for creative and driven pioneers.

For more information, visit https://www.telefonica.com/en/ and https://labs.mediatek.com.

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About MediaTek

Since 1997, MediaTek has been a pioneering fabless semiconductor company and a market leader in cutting-edge systems-on-chip (SoC) for mobile devices, wireless networking, HDTV, DVD and Blu-ray. Our tightly-integrated, innovative chip designs help manufacturers optimize supply chains, reduce the development time of new products, and extend a competitive edge in crowded markets. Through MediaTek Labs, the company is also building a developer hub that will support device creation, application development, and services for the Internet of Things era. By building technologies that help connect individuals to the world around them, MediaTek is enabling people to expand their horizons and more easily achieve their goals. We believe anyone can achieve something amazing. And we believe they can do it every single day. We call this idea Everyday Genius and it drives everything we do. Visit mediatek.com for more information.

About Telefónica

Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation and number of customers. With its best in class mobile, fixed and broadband networks, and innovative portfolio of digital solutions, Telefónica is transforming itself into a ‘Digital Telco’, a company that will be even better placed to meet the needs of its customers and capture new revenue growth.

The company has a significant presence in 21 countries and a customer base of 319 million accesses around the world. Telefónica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.

Telefónica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4.938.417.514 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in London, New York, Lima, and Buenos Aires.