MediaTek Lands Second AI ASIC Customer, Lifts 2027 Target to $16 Billion

MediaTek raised its 2027 ASIC revenue target to approximately $16 billion and confirmed a second custom AI chip customer during its October 30, 2026 earnings call. The company said the new buyer is not a Chinese firm, countering earlier speculation that ByteDance was behind the deal.

The figure is a target, not booked revenue. MediaTek estimates the $16 billion would represent roughly 20% of the AI accelerator market in 2027.

Where do the two customer programs stand?

The programs sit at different stages. MediaTek began shipping its first AI accelerator ASIC in September 2026, in limited quantities. CEO Rick Tsai described demand for the product as strong on the call.

The second program remains in co-design. Volume production for that customer is planned for 2028. A second buyer broadens the custom-chip base and reduces revenue concentration on a single hyperscaler relationship.

The nearer-term checkpoint is the fourth quarter of 2026. MediaTek projects $2.5 billion in data center revenue for that quarter, ahead of any contribution from the second customer's chips.

What changes with the second-generation silicon?

MediaTek's second-generation ASICs use advanced multi-die packaging. Several dies have completed tape-out, meaning their designs are finalized and sent for manufacturing.

Mass production of the more complex versions is set to begin by the first quarter of 2028. MediaTek projects the second-generation parts will deliver performance-per-watt gains several times greater than the first generation, while cutting total cost of ownership for customers.

That schedule separates the company's financial ambitions from its delivery milestones. First-customer shipments have started at small volumes. Second-customer volume manufacturing is nearly two years out.

What did the third quarter deliver?

The projections follow a quarter of double-digit growth in both revenue and profit. MediaTek reported consolidated revenue of NT$168.06 billion for the third quarter of 2026, up 10.4% from the preceding quarter and 18.3% from a year earlier. Gross margin held steady at 46.3%.

The growth gives MediaTek room to fund the ASIC ramp alongside its core smartphone and connectivity businesses. The company did not disclose the identity of either custom-chip customer.

The $2.5 billion fourth-quarter data center forecast will be the first concrete test of whether first-generation shipments can scale from limited volumes into a material revenue line before the 2028 production ramp begins.