[News] MediaTek’s Google TPU v9 Shipments May Slip to 1Q28; ASIC Race Heats Up as Taiwan Firms Eye Opportunities

Taiwan’s ASIC design industry is seeing growing opportunities, with MediaTek emerging as a key player in the expanding market. However, according to Commercial Times, citing institutional investors, Google’s TPU v9 project, involving MediaTek, could see its tape-out delayed until January 2027 following design revisions, with shipments potentially pushed back to the first quarter of 2028.

The report notes that revisions to Google’s TPU v9 Core A design, codenamed Humufish, have delayed development by approximately three weeks, affecting the Core B and I/O designs handled by MediaTek. Although the November 2026 sampling target remains unchanged, the initial tape-out is now expected in January 2027, followed by the production-version tape-out in the second quarter.

Beyond the design revisions, Google’s TPU v9 project is also drawing attention for its advanced packaging strategy. According to TrendForce, the chip is expected to adopt Intel’s EMIB-T, with substrate yields remaining a key challenge to production scalability and cost competitiveness.

MediaTek is also seeking to expand its ASIC customer base beyond Google. According to Bloomberg, citing sources, ByteDance is nearing an agreement to purchase MediaTek’s data center chips, potentially making the TikTok parent the Taiwanese chipmaker’s second major ASIC customer after Alphabet’s Google. Bloomberg notes that securing a major ByteDance contract would support MediaTek’s efforts to diversify beyond smartphones and strengthen its position against Qualcomm and Broadcom in the data center market.

Taiwan’s ASIC Firms See Revenue Growth and New Foundry Opportunities

Beyond MediaTek, other Taiwanese ASIC design companies are seeing advanced chip projects translate into stronger revenue. Global Unichip Corporation (GUC), supported by cloud customers’ CPU and ASIC programs, reported record September revenue of NT$7.145 billion, up 97.8% year over year. Alchip Technologies posted September revenue of NT$9.979 billion, surging 496% year over year as shipments of 3nm AI accelerators increased.

Faraday Technology is also expanding its capabilities across multiple foundry platforms, positioning itself for opportunities with Samsung and Intel. According to Commercial Times, Samsung’s 4nm capacity is reportedly fully utilized, prompting some AI ASIC customers to evaluate its 2nm node. Faraday has obtained Samsung’s 2nm process design kit (PDK) to pursue related design opportunities. The company has also completed its design environment setup for Intel’s 18A-P and begun offering design services, with plans to pursue more projects in 2027.

According to Commercial Times, citing institutional investors, global AI ASIC accelerator shipments are projected to reach 14.1 million units in 2027, up approximately 69% year over year, highlighting growing opportunities for ASIC design companies.

Read more

• CSP ASICs Rise as Google TPU Eyes EMIB Packaging
• [News] MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro, Built on TSMC 2nm, Reportedly Hits Record $220, Closing In on Qualcomm

(Photo credit: MediaTek)