MediaTek announces Kompanio 838 chipset for AI-powered Chromebooks

Taiwanese semiconductor entity MediaTek has announced Kompanio 838 chipset aimed at next-generation Google Chromebooks with support for on-device AI. The MediaTek Kompanio 838 will debut in Lenovo Chromebooks, which are set to launch in coming days.

The Kompanio 838 is an octa-core chipset based on a 6nm process, which MediaTek said assures better battery performance. MediaTek stated that the new Kompanio chip for Chromebooks supports two 4K displays output at once and boasts an integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of 4 TOPS for on-device AI performance.

“The Kompanio 838 has a dedicated AI processor, the MediaTek NPU 650, which enables more interactive and higher quality multimedia with unparalleled power efficiency. MediaTek NPUs are designed for efficient image data processing, capable of quickly executing complex computations,” said MediaTek.

Another notable upgrade that the chip brings is the support for AV1 video codec, in addition to HEVC and VP-9. For connectivity, the chip supports Wi-Fi 6 and 6-e standards.

MediaTek said the Kompanio 838 features its Imagiq 7 series image signal processor (ISP), which would enable professional quality HDR imaging in low-light capture, and dual-camera support for better photo and video quality even in poor light.

The Taiwanese Semiconductor manufacturer has also promised “outstanding performance and multitasking capabilities into a highly efficient SoC that enables all-day battery life for thin and light Chromebooks.”

The Kompanio 838 supports DDR4 and LPDDR4X-type RAMs to meet requirements of original equipment manufacturers and double memory bandwidth in comparison to its predecessors.