MediaTek

Stephen Huang, 55, founded Tranxform, a Taiwan-based AI chip startup, after working on chips at Apple, Amazon, and MediaTek. The company aims to develop power-efficient processors for AI models outside data centers, leveraging Huang's decades of experience in semiconductor design.

MediaTek Inc. is repositioning itself as an AI contender, highlighted by its presence at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. The event, once focused on PCs, has shifted to become an all-AI exhibition.

Nvidia has announced the RTX Spark, an Arm-based chip for Windows PCs combining a 20-core Grace CPU with MediaTek, up to 6,144 Blackwell GPU cores, and 128GB unified memory. The chip will power slim laptops and compact desktops from partners like Asus, Dell, and Microsoft, available this fall.

Nvidia's N1X mobile processor, combining an Arm-based CPU and Blackwell GPU, will power new RTX Spark notebooks and mini PCs starting this fall. The chip, previously used in the DGX Spark AI workstations, offers up to 500 teraFLOPS of compute and 128 GB of unified memory, with systems running Windows and targeting high-performance gaming and creative workloads.

By 2027, over 80% of premium smartphones will have agentic AI capabilities, and by 2032, a similar proportion of wearable devices will be AI-enabled. Counterpoint Research forecasts this trend, driven by vendors seeing AI as a premium feature. This shift is expected to impact the smartphone and wearables markets significantly.

ZTE Corporation and MediaTek unveiled a joint strategy to expand premium connectivity product portfolios in Brazil, targeting high-demand residential users and small businesses with tri-band Wi-Fi 7 technology. The partnership aims to address the needs of advanced technology, comprehensive coverage, and low-latency network performance. ZTE and MediaTek seek to capture value from an audience with a greater willingness to invest in premium connectivity.

OpenAI is reportedly launching a phone for ChatGPT, with mass production aimed to start in early 2027. The phone will run on a customized version of the MediaTek Dimensity 9600 chip. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared details about the rumored phone.

Motorola is launching four foldable Razr devices in 2026 with modest upgrades and higher prices, including a new tablet-style Razr Fold. The lineup features enhanced displays, improved cameras, and faster charging, but faces rising component costs. Prices range from $800 to $1,900, positioning the Razr Fold as a premium alternative to competitors like Samsung's Z Flip.

OpenAI is reportedly developing a smartphone chip in collaboration with Qualcomm and MediaTek, aiming to produce 400 million units annually. This follows a recent directive to staff to avoid distractions and focus on core priorities.

Taiwan's MediaTek has partnered with Intel and TSMC to advance chip packaging technology. The collaboration focuses on developing next-generation semiconductor solutions through joint efforts in packaging innovation.