Nothing Beats an Old Friend | MEMSIC Chairperson Leads Team Visit to Garmin, Ushering a New Chapter in Their 15-Year Partnership

Recently, Huang Haiyan, Chairperson of MEMSIC, led a delegation to visit Garmin’s headquarters in Kansas, USA. The team also held panel discussions with the North American Automotive Society and the Detroit Chinese Engineers Association. Centered on deepened collaboration for geomagnetic sensors, IMUs and other intelligent sensing products, as well as new opportunities in the North American market, the team conducted in-depth exchanges on technology with the customer and technical specialists.

As a globally renowned brand specializing in fitness, outdoor, aviation, marine and automotive electronics, Garmin boasts a rich product portfolio and is widely recognized for professionalism and reliability. It stands as a key partner of MEMSIC in North America. At present, multiple MEMSIC sensor products have been integrated into Garmin’s various product lines, marking 15 years of ongoing collaboration between the two sides.

Nothing Beats an Old Friend，Recalling the 15-Year Partnership

Huang Haiyan and her team first toured Garmin’s headquarters campus in Kansas. “There is an old Chinese saying: New clothes are preferred, yet old friends are irreplaceable. New things are desirable, but trusted partners grow more valuable with time. We have collaborated with Garmin for years and have become like family.” She added candidly, “The core purpose of this visit is to explore broader room for cooperation. Garmin delivers end-to-end finished products for consumers, while MEMSIC supplies one or several sensor chips embedded within them. MEMSIC will keep focusing on perfecting sensors, and deliver superior products and services to empower Garmin’s offerings.”

This dedication and commitment are rooted in MEMSIC’s accumulated technological strength. On Android platforms, MEMSIC geomagnetic sensors hold more than 40% of the global market share, and its accelerometers account for roughly 30%. In the European and American markets, MEMSIC maintains long-term partnerships with leading players including Garmin, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. Huang Haiyan noted, “Innovation is embedded in Garmin’s brand ethos, and MEMSIC also embraces the vision of Sensing an Intelligent World, Boundless Future with a persistent pursuit of innovation. We advance hand in hand through collaboration.”

In-depth Alignment on Technical Requirements，Jointly Embark on a New Journey for Wearable Sensing

During the meeting, Garmin engineers shared product iteration roadmaps against the backdrop of global smart wearable industry trends, and put forward industry insights and specific technical requirements for next-generation devices in terms of sensing performance, power consumption and reliability. In response, Huang Haiyan stated: “MEMSIC will design and manufacture sensors tailored to Garmin’s requirements for future products, and continue to walk alongside Garmin for long-term growth.”

Garmin engineers also expressed their willingness to actively evaluate and test new MEMSIC product launches such as IMUs and other inertial sensors, to help MEMSIC’s new products better align with market demands.

Huang Haiyan also shared her perspectives on the development of semiconductor enterprises.

She remarked: “In the AI era, all electronic components are becoming intelligent and will be redefined. Sensing technology is growing increasingly critical. Previously, fabs were viewed as a burden for semiconductor companies, but they are evolving into a core competitive advantage. Nevertheless, constructing and sustaining fabs requires sufficient market scale to support operations. Partnerships with top-tier enterprises like Garmin equip MEMSIC with greater capacity for rapid growth.” She further introduced that MEMSIC will complete the backend construction for IMU production this year and place additional equipment orders for its Shaoxing fab to roll out more new products. The company will build a self-sufficient manufacturing loop, advancing progressively from fabless to fab-lite, and eventually toward an IDM model.

Huang Haiyan used a metaphor: “For a large enterprise like Garmin, the support MEMSIC can provide today may only be as strong as a single finger. But we will spare no effort to grow that strength into a whole hand.” She emphasized that mutual recognition at both corporate and product levels has underpinned the 15-year partnership. “We hope to receive support from our partners when we need it; likewise, we will do our utmost to support our partners in their time of need.”

Following the discussions, both sides attended a working lunch together and toured the Garmin campus in a cordial atmosphere.

A Visit to Detroit，Tapping New Opportunities for Automotive Industry Collaboration

The delegation later held a forum with the Detroit Chinese Engineers Association (DCEA). The association gathers technical and management talents from automotive, battery, sensing and other sectors. Participants exchanged in-depth views on topics including electric drive systems, power battery modeling and algorithms. Both sides clarified follow-up priorities: sustain engagement with the association, explore potential cooperation with automotive Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and plan Sino-US technical exchange events to help MEMSIC expand sales channels across North America.

From face-to-face in-depth talks at Garmin’s Kansas campus to industry resource networking in Detroit, this US trip not only deepens a 15-year trusted partnership, but also represents another proactive step for MEMSIC to strengthen its footprint in North America. Leveraging its global ecosystem covering R&D, manufacturing, sales and technical support, MEMSIC will keep delivering high-precision, low-power, miniaturized intelligent sensing solutions and a maturing manufacturing system to serve customers worldwide, bringing the vision of Sensing an Intelligent World, Boundless Future closer to reality.