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The consumer electronics arm of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has disbanded its chip research team, becoming the second casualty among smartphone-related ventures that have heeded Beijing’s call for semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Xingji Meizu Group said it made the decision “in the face of uncertainties in the global economic environment” and would focus more on product innovation and software user experience from now on, according to reports by local media outlets including the state-run Securities Times and Jiemian.
The firm’s chip team was said to be employing some 200 people, including 40 fresh graduates.
Xingji Meizu, established in March this year, specialises in smartphones, extended reality and other “forward-looking technologies” such as chips and operating systems, according to the company website.