Google Reportedly Taps MediaTek For Next-Gen AI Server Chips In NVIDIA Challenge

Google is reportedly getting ready to work with MediaTek for its next set of AI chips, also known as Tensor Processing Units. Not to be confused with the Tensor chips that are used in Pixel devices. These will be chips used in Google’s own servers around the world.

Previously, Google was working with Broadcom for these chips, though it appears that the search giant has not cut ties with Broadcom. In late 2024, Google rolled out its sixth-generation TPU, which was set to give itself and its cloud customers an alternative to NVIDIA. Who also makes their own AI chips. Currently, NVIDIA’s AI chips are the most sought-after in the industry, which is why they are so hard to get ahold of.

By designing their own chips, gives Google a competitive edge in the race for AI, because they aren’t as reliant on NVIDIA. Considering how hard it is to get NVIDIA’s AI chips, as well as their GPU’s in general, this is a huge edge for Google. And why Google Cloud continues to be one of the larger cloud companies, even beating out AWS.

Google went with MediaTek over pricing

According to The Information, Google decided to work with MediaTek because it has a strong relationship with TSMC (both of which are based in Taiwan), and it also charges Google less per chip compared to Broadcom. For reference, Google spend between $6 billion and $9 billion on TPU’s last year. So this is no small feat for MediaTek to get this contract with Google.

MediaTek has been making some pretty impressive waves over the past couple of years, and this latest relationship proves it’s more than just about smartphone chips. However, on the smartphone side of things, MediaTek’s newest flagship processor, Dimensity 9400, has been proven to be on par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite.