Dongwoon Anatech sold OIS AF Driver IC to Huawei P40
Annual revenue estimated at KRW 80 billion
Fabless semiconductor firm Dongwoon Anatech has successfully supplied OIS Auto Focus (AF) Driver ICs for rear camera modules fitted into Huawei Technologies’ upcoming P40 smartphones, according to industry sources on Jan. 21.
Until now, Huawei had partnered with US-based ON Semiconductor for the Driver ICs. But due to sanctions from Washington last year, the Chinese company has been looking to diversify its portfolio, and its eye landed on Dongwoon Anatech.
The OIS AF Driver IC is about 10 times more expensive than non-OIS AF Driver ICs. Dongwoon is now looking to supply to Huawei’s latest in its Mate lineup to be revealed in the latter half of this year.
"Supplying Huawei is great reference for Dongwoon Anatech, and it can create opportunities for partnerships with other companies,” said one source close to the matter. Analysts expect the firm to raise up to KRW 30 billion from OIS sales this year.
Dongwoon Anatech is expected to supply AF Driver ICs for frontal camera modules installed in Samsung smartphones. And if more mid or lower tier smartphones apply AF technology to their frontal cameras, the revenue growth is likely to be even bigger.
Meanwhile, the next technology that Dongwoon is pinning hopes on to become another cash cow is Time of Flight Driver ICs. Starting this year, top smartphone makers are likely to adopt ToF for their rear cameras.
Currently, Japan’s Sony is the only provider of ToF Driver ICs. Dongwoon Anatech is in talks with local partners such as Namugawa and Partron to supply the technology to local smartphones maker by the latter half of this year. ToF Driver ICs are more expensive than OIS AF Driver ICs, and would contribute even more to the firm’s revenues, according to market watchers.
Dongwoon Anatech recently supplied Haptic Driver ICs for Genesis’ sports utility vehicle, the GV80.According to analysts, the firm is estimated to post KRW 80 billion of revenues this year to reflect a minimum 20% increase.
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