(Yicai) May 14 -- MediaTek is actively exploring cooperation opportunities with artificial intelligence models, the senior director of technology planning at the world's largest phone chip supplier's wireless communication division said in response to a rumor that the Chinese firm will collaborate with OpenAI.

According to the rumor, Taiwan-based MediaTek would ally with OpenAI to develop a system-on-chip for smartphones, with mass production expected to start in 2028.

Li Junnan did not name any specific potential AI partners for MediaTek while speaking at a press conference yesterday.

On the same day, MediaTek released the Dimensity Agentic AI Engine 2.0, which can assist device manufacturers in developing Agent OS with active perception and cross-application driving capabilities, and launched NeuroPilot 3.0, upgrading the development kit's full-modal capabilities of end-side agents and accelerating the end-side deployment of agent applications, aiming to improve the AI capabilities of terminals.

The Dimensity AI partners ecosystem has grown 240 percent over the past three years, while development kits downloads have soared 440 percent, noted Chen Guanzhou, director and general manager of MediaTek.

From MediaTek's core business perspective, phone chip operations have undergone years of adjustments. While providing AI capabilities for terminals, the company is also seeking its own growth opportunities.

The auto sector is a clear direction for MediaTek, with "cars not limited by batteries," Chen Zhongyi, vice general manager of the Automotive Platform Division, told Yicai. "The computing power can be very large.

"MediaTek's automotive-grade chips can have a computing power of up to 400 tera operations per second, while lots of the neural processing units architecture and compression technologies accumulated in mobile phones can be reused," Chen noted. "Smartphones are leading the way, and technologies are ready-made to be applied."

The more fundamental layout lies in the AI infrastructure. Previously, MediaTek launched a data center project driven by Nvidia's DGX B200 system.

"MediaTek does not directly compete with Nvidia in training chips, but provides high-speed computing and advanced packaging technologies," Director of Ecosystem Development Zhang Li said to Yicai.

Regarding rising memory prices, an executive from MediaTek told Yicai that "the increase in memory prices is too high and it does have some impact on overall terminal sales, with the situation being even more severe in the auto sector."

It is not all bad news, with the real challenge lying in bandwidth and memory capacity, Chen pointed out, adding that MediaTek's internal approach is to conserve bandwidth as much as possible and solve problems with technology.

Editor: Martin Kadiev