Nvidia has forged yet another partnership with a key technology provider, this time with Taiwan chip firm MediaTek. The AI chip colossus has committed to buying $3.5 billion in MediaTek bonds in what it called a “deepening” of the two firms’ “longstanding collaboration to build the next generations of AI computing platforms.”
It said the two companies would combine Nvidia’s accelerated computing, AI, graphics and software with Mediatek’s capabilities in custom silicon, HPC, SoC design and advanced packaging.
Rick Tsai, vice chairman and CEO of MediaTek, said: “Nvidia’s investment strengthens a collaboration that spans cloud AI infrastructure, local AI computing and automotive in the era of physical AI.” It would bring together Nvidia’s accelerated computing and AI software ecosystem with MediaTek’s AI technology portfolio and custom silicon, Tsai said.
In recent years MediaTek has transformed itself from a supplier of mostly mid- and low-end handset chips to a key player across the spectrum, including smartphones, AI data centers, automotive and IoT.
The closer partnership will boost MediaTek’s efforts to extend from edge AI into data center infrastructure, device-based AI computing and automotive platforms, securities firm Yuanta said.
Custom AI infrastructure
Additionally, the huge purchase of bonds signaled Nvidia’s long-term commitment. Yuanta said the most important part of the partnership would be MediaTek’s participation in Nvidia’s NVLink Fusion, allowing Mediatek to support the design of custom AI chips for clients while linking into Nvidia’s AI infrastructure.
Nvidia, currently the world’s most valuable company, with a $5 trillion market cap, has been on what can be fairly called a spree in investing in upstream and downstream partners. Inevitably this latest “deepening” runs the risk of colliding with other Nvidia bets. For example, Nvidia’s $2 billion Marvell partnership, which is also heavily focused on NVLink Fusion.
Trading in Mediatek stock in Taipei was suspended Tuesday after it reached the daily limit of 10%. It closed at 4,315 Taiwan dollars (US$136.05).
Meanwhile, another Nvidia AI chip partnership appears in the wind. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met Park Sung-hyun, the head of South Korean AI chip startup Rebellions, at the US company’s headquarters Monday to discuss a potential partnership, Korean media reported.
Rebellions, which counts SK Telecom affiliate SK Hynix as one of its shareholders, earlier this year struck an AI inferencing partnership with SK Telecom and ARM and is working with SK Telecom on developing agentic infrastructure.
