TECH NEWS – MediaTek may be shifting its focus from mobile chips to ASICs for AI applications, which could put its Dimensity chips at a disadvantage.

The company has transferred some of its resources, including personnel, from its mobile chip division to blue ocean products, such as AI ASICs and automotive silicon. A blue ocean market has plenty of opportunities and limited or nonexistent competition.

MediaTek played an important role in developing Google’s TPU v7 Ironwood ASIC, designing the input/output (I/O) modules that facilitate communication between the processor and peripherals. This marked a departure from Google’s recent strategy of designing the next-generation TPU in close collaboration with Broadcom.

MediaTek intends to deepen its ASIC collaboration with Google as the next-generation TPU is set to enter mass production in Q3 2026. Google plans to produce 5 million customized ASIC units in 2027 and 7 million in 2028.

In preparation for high-volume production, Broadcom and MediaTek have increased wafer production. Google’s TPU has also become more complex following the adoption of TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. Consequently, MediaTek has reallocated resources from mobile chip production to establish a dedicated team for its ASIC ambitions.

MediaTek relies on its own SerDes (serializer/deserializer) technology to convert parallel data into high-speed serial data streams for efficient transmission, and then back into parallel data at the receiver. This gives MediaTek an advantage in the ASIC field.

MediaTek’s current-generation 112 Gb/s SerDes DSP uses a PAM-4 receiver architecture and, with a 4 nm process, achieves over 52 dB of loss compensation capability. The chip designer is also developing its next-generation 224 Gb/s SerDes DSP.

MediaTek expects to generate $1 billion in revenue from AI ASICs in 2026, with figures potentially reaching several billions in 2027. In addition to collaborating with Google, MediaTek aims to work with Meta on customized ASIC solutions.

According to industry insiders, MediaTek now views AI as a structural transformation of its growth strategy, inevitably pushing its mobile chip division into the background.

MediaTek’s Dimensity chips remain highly competitive for now. However, with the mobile division being deprioritized, it remains unclear how long these chips can stay competitive.

Source: WCCFTech, CTEE