Digitimes, which was briefed by MediaTek execs said that the number of its IoT R&D staff will continue to grow substantially during 2016.

The company has already started shipping two IoT chips, dubbed the MT2502 and MT2601.  The compay said its monthly shipments are reaching several ten million units. Shipments for 2016 are set to increase as more solutions from the chipmaker will be available to target IoT applications with a marketing focus on smart homes and wearables..

MediaTek's is planning a 3-5 roadmap for its IoT applications in 2016 and wants the chips to be more diversified and power-efficient.  It already has signed partnerships with Amazon, Tinitell, Apple and People Power. Late last year MediaTek launched a development platform for advanced Wi-Fi based devices such as IP cameras, surveillance devices, smart appliances and Wi-Fi gateways that make use of cloud services.

Now all that remains is for the IoT market to take off and the outfit will have a foot in the door.  However this year is not predicted to be a great one for sales, with the downturn of the Chinese economy so take up might be slow.