MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest supplier of smartphone chips, yesterday said the tape-out process for its first 2-nanometer chip would take place in September, paving the way for volume production of its most advanced chip, likely to be its next-generation flagship smartphone chip, around the year-end at the earliest.
MediaTek has been leveraging advanced process technologies from its foundry partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to build its flagship mobile phone chips, a segment it once relinquished and then recovered four years ago as it released its Dimensity series.
In the semiconductor industry, a tape-out refers to the final stage of the chip design cycle before it is sent for manufacturing.
Photo: I-hwa Cheng, AFP
MediaTek’s most advanced mobile chip available is the Dimensity 9400, made on TSMC’s 3-nanometer process technology. The chip delivers a 25 percent power efficiency improvement and 15 percent enhancement in performance compared with its predecessor, MediaTek said.
“We are now moving into 2-nanometer [technology]. We will be taping out our first 2-nanometer device in September this year. Of course, this is a high-volume chip,” MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) said during his Computex keynote speech in Taipei themed “AI for Everyone: From Edge to Cloud.”
“You probably can guess what: 2 nanometers. I’m not allowed to announce, cause J.C. is here,” Tsai said, referring J.C. Hsu (徐敬全), MediaTek senior vice president in charge of wireless communications.
Tsai did not specify which product the 2 nanometer technology would be used to build.
MediaTek apparently would continue adopting next generations of technologies that follow Moore’s Law.
MediaTek said that as chip production technology is advancing to angstrom level, it would adopt 16A or 14A chips based on its long-term roadmap, Tsai said.
TSMC would start volume production of its 16A chips in the second half of next year.
“Whatever [technology] after that, MediaTek is in,” Tsai said.
MediaTek has been diversifying its product lines to minimize operational risks. Mobile chips remain the biggest revenue source of the company, making up about 56 percent of its total revenue last quarter.
Two years ago, MediaTek expanded its business scope to supply automotive chips, and most recently application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators for cloud-based data center operators and super chips, in collaboration with Nvidia Corp.
As AI data center chips are usually much larger than those for mobile phones or TVs, “people wonder if MediaTek can do that, as it is known as a consumer electronics company. Yes, we can,” Tsai said.
MediaTek has a record of accomplishment in developing ASICs for data centers, he said.
The company is ready to supply four different sizes of chips, from a type of mobile phone chip to an automotive chip and two big networking chips, including one equipped with high-band-width memory (HBM) chips, he said.
The company’s networking chip with HBM chips has been under volume production for more than one year, measuring 91x91mm2, he said.
As for super chips, MediaTek would be supplying chips used in Nvidia’s new AI-based personal device, DGX Spark, Tsai said.
Nvidia did not disclose the product’s launch date, but CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said that it would make a good Christmas present.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a