The Taiwanese chip designer also began shipping its first AI accelerator in September and raised its 2027 ASIC revenue target to approximately $16 billion
MediaTek has landed a second customer for its custom AI chips, with mass production of those chips expected to begin in 2028.
The disclosure came during MediaTek’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 30. The company said the new customer is not a Chinese firm, which pushes back on earlier market chatter that ByteDance was the mystery buyer.
What MediaTek announced
According to the company, co-design work with the second customer is already underway, with volume production targeted for 2028.
The first customer is further along. MediaTek began small-volume shipments of its first AI accelerator ASIC in September 2026, and CEO Rick Tsai pointed to strong demand for the product.
The numbers behind the pitch
MediaTek reported double-digit growth in both revenue and profit for the third quarter of 2026.
Consolidated revenue came in at NT$168.06 billion. That figure was up 10.4% from the prior quarter and 18.3% from the same period a year earlier.
Gross margin held steady at 46.3%.
MediaTek projected that data center revenue will reach $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The company also raised its 2027 ASIC revenue target to approximately $16 billion. MediaTek estimates that figure could translate into around 20% of the AI accelerator market.
The second-generation chip
MediaTek’s latest-generation ASIC uses advanced multi-die packaging. Several of those dies have already been taped out, meaning the designs are finalized and sent off for manufacturing. The more complex versions are scheduled to enter mass production by the first quarter of 2028.
MediaTek expects the second generation to deliver performance-per-watt gains several times better than the first generation. It also anticipates a lower total cost of ownership for customers.
Why the customer’s nationality matters
MediaTek went out of its way to state that the second customer has no link to Chinese firms. Speculation had circulated that ByteDance was behind the deal. By clarifying that the buyer is non-Chinese, MediaTek removes one layer of uncertainty from a contract that won’t reach volume production for roughly two years.
What this means
Revenue concentration is a classic risk in the custom chip world. If one buyer changes strategy or brings design work in-house, a supplier can lose a big slice of income quickly, so diversifying the customer base makes the $16 billion target look less fragile.
Still, investors should keep the timelines in view. The first ASIC is only in small-volume shipments, the second customer’s chips are not expected in mass production until 2028, and the 2027 revenue figure is a target, not a booked result.
The near-term checkpoint is the fourth quarter. If MediaTek hits its $2.5 billion data center revenue projection, it will lend credibility to the much larger 2027 ambition.
MediaTek’s own estimate of around 20% market share implies it expects to win business that would otherwise go to rival chip designers.
