Key insights
- MediaTek's announcement to support both TSMC's CoWoS and Intel's EMIB advanced packaging technologies offers flexibility to customers, potentially benefiting both chip manufacturers and AI chip designers. This move, coupled with MediaTek's bullish outlook on the custom AI chip market and plans to utilize TSMC's US fabs, suggests a positive competitive dynamic within the semiconductor industry. The company's expansion into custom AI silicon and significant revenue forecasts indicate growing demand and innovation in the AI sector, which could indirectly support related US tech companies.
By Wen-Yee Lee
TAIPEI, May 29 (Reuters) - Taiwan chip designer MediaTek said on Friday it supports both TSMC’s and Intel’s advanced packaging technologies, allowing customers to choose between the two approaches.
"We’re one of the few custom silicon providers that support both (TSMC’s) CoWoS and (Intel’s) EMIB. We let our customers choose," MediaTek Senior Vice President Vince Hu told reporters in Taipei.
CoWoS, or Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate, is TSMC’s advanced packaging technology widely used for artificial intelligence chips, including those designed by Nvidia. EMIB, or Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge, is Intel’s competing advanced packaging technology.
Intel’s EMIB advanced packaging technology is being considered for custom AI chips MediaTek is designing for Alphabet’s Google, according to two people familiar with the matter.
MediaTek has not publicly identified Google as a customer for its custom chip business and did not comment on whether it may use EMIB technology for chips for Google.
MediaTek, which has been expanding its custom AI chip business beyond its traditional mobile chip operations, reiterated that it had doubled its forecast for 2026 data center sector revenue to $2 billion.
The company estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for custom AI Application-Specific Integrated Circuits could reach $70 billion to $80 billion in 2027 and it targets a 10% to 15% share of that market.
MediaTek also said it has multiple test chips on TSMC’s A14 process, the chipmaker’s next-generation manufacturing technology expected to enter volume production in 2028.
The company also said it plans to use TSMC’s Arizona fabs, including for chips manufactured on 4-nanometre and 3-nanometre technologies.
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