Google Partners with MediaTek to Develop its Next AI Chip

According to a report, Google will collaborate with Taiwan's MediaTek to develop the next generation of its AI chips, Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which are expected to launch next year.

The Information claims that because MediaTek has a solid relationship with TSMC and offers lower per-chip costs than Broadcom, Google may be moving to the company.

By lowering its dependency on Nvidia, the leading company in the chip industry, this tactic enables Google to maintain its competitiveness in the AI market. This is particularly crucial because Nvidia chips have been in high demand from rivals like OpenAI and Meta.

Google introduced its sixth-generation TPU late last year, providing an alternative to Nvidia chips for itself and its Cloud clients. As previously stated, the reason for selecting MediaTek is its strong partnership with TSMC, a major chip manufacturer, and its ability to provide chips at a lower cost than Broadcom.

According to research firm Omdia, Google spent $6 billion to $9 billion on TPUs last year, based on Broadcom's AI semiconductor revenue targets.

Google and Apple team up

According to a related development, Google and Apple may collaborate to offer Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging to Indian mobile phone users this year. Through the partnership, Android devices may be able to access Apple's proprietary blue bubble messaging, which is currently only accessible on iPhones. With WhatsApp quickly gaining traction, this move is anticipated to upend India's business communications landscape, which has been dominated by traditional SMS.

Apple is reportedly planning to join Google in India, where Google has already inked contracts with telecom providers Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio.

The backend integration of telecom companies, Apple, and Google is not expected to affect the user experience. RCS messages will continue to work via mobile data or Wi-Fi, just like traditional SMS. A2P (application-to-person) messaging, a vital channel used for official communications by companies like banks and e-commerce sites, could be significantly impacted by this partnership.