electronic devices

Realtek is a leading cutting edge semiconductor company founded in 1987. Realtek has expanded its primary products and solutions throughout the following years. The company took a big leap when it acquired Avance Logic in 1995 and improved its audio technology solutions. Avance was an independent subsidiary till 2002 and then it was integrated into Realtek’s Audio Solutions. Currently, the company is operating with approximately 5,000 employees and its headquarters is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company invests significantly in research and development facilities and 78 percent of the total employees exclusively work for the same as well.

The Early Days of Realtek

Founded in 1987, Realtek made a breakthrough when it invented Realtek’s RTG3108 High-Performance Window Accelerator Chipset. The product received appreciation and was awarded the Innovative Product Award from Hsinchu Science Park Administration. In 1995, the company got certified as an ISO9001 registered company and after a couple of years rolled out Realtek Single-Chip Fast Ethernet Controller. Realtek received a New Product Development Award for this new controller and the company was also approved for the Taiwan Over-The-Counter Securities Exchange list. Next year, Company made it into the list of companies approved for the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Realtek in 21st Century

Realtek brought some major new innovations into the semiconductor market as it started focusing on its R&D department. In 2000, the company received a huge R&D grant from the Hsinchu Science Park Administration for building a very fast ethernet transceiver. The same year, Realtek became the recipient of MOEA’s Most Outstanding Award for Industrial Technology Advancement. In 2001, Realtek rolled out a Multi-mode Single-Chip 10/100M Fast Ethernet Controller which also received Component Design Award by EDN Asia Magazine.

In 2002, the company received another round for an R & D fund and this time it was for a media access controller and a high-performing multifunction peripheral controller. The company received a lot of fame this year as it was featured in Taiwan’s Microelectronics Magazine as one of the top ten global electronic component providers. the company also made it into the Forbes list in 2003 as it became Global 200 Best Small Companies. The innovations kept on brewing in the R&D sector of Realtek and every year it came up with more than one impressive product. This led to the opening of a new building of the company in 2005. In 2009, the company won’t the prestigious National Invention and Creation Award. In the following years, the company started making progress in digital media and also enhanced on designing sustainable products.

Company in Present Day

Realtek’s contribution to creating a better environment through designing more green products was awarded by the country. It received Taiwan Green Classics Award in 2011 Industrial Sustainable Excellence Award and Superior Enterprise Innovation Award all in the same year. In recent years, Company has proven to be one of the best companies with significant contributions in IoT applications, mobiles, and wearables, car electronics, IC & Components, etc.

The demand for the company’s chips has also increased especially during the pandemic as the consumer base for smart devices and gadgets have splurged unexpectedly. This is one of the biggest reasons why not only Realtek but every semiconductor business, in general, faced an increase in demand for chips from the last year. In 2021, the company also launched a new gaming network total solution that bagged Computex D&I Awards of this year. Realtek designs products on a very wide range of semiconductor components. But, some of their signature products that have contributed to their global presence are BlueTooth TWS with ANC solution, Low-Power AI IP Camera, 8K Video Decoder and Processing IC, etc.

Sun-Chien Chiu – General Manager

Chiu completed his education at National Taiwan University and has been a part of Realtek Semiconductor Corp since 1999. Apart from serving as the President of Realtek, he is also the board member of Wionics Technologies Inc.