MediaTek plans $5 billion financing for AI data-center chips

MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest chip designer, said on Friday its board had approved a discretionary financing budget of $5 billion to support long-term growth, including its expansion into AI chips for data centres.

The plan highlights the company’s push to reduce its reliance on smartphones and become a significant supplier of custom AI chips, known as ASICs, to major cloud providers.

Although the market is dominated by a small ‌group of players, ⁠rapidly ⁠rising spending on AI infrastructure is giving MediaTek, best known for smartphone processors, an opportunity to expand into a faster-growing and higher-margin business.