Sources: Google plans to partner with Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek to design and produce its next-gen TPUs, set for 2026, but will still work with Broadcom
Qianer Liu / The Information :
Context & Ripple Effects
Google's reported MediaTek plan follows earlier discussion that it could move away from Broadcom for future TPUs, making the decision to retain Broadcom a meaningful hedge rather than a clean supplier replacement. Earlier reports of a possible Broadcom exit framed the cost and control stakes.
Later coverage that Broadcom would produce future TPU versions reinforces the central arc: Google is widening its TPU partner set while preserving an established relationship.
First-order effects
- MediaTek gains a role in designing and producing Google's next-generation TPUs targeted for 2026.
- Broadcom remains part of Google's TPU plans, limiting the immediate disruption to its position as a Google chip partner.
Second-order effects
- Google can divide TPU development and production work across more than one specialist, increasing its leverage and reducing dependence on a single partner.
- MediaTek's entry raises its relevance in custom AI silicon, while Broadcom must compete to retain scope in a relationship it continues to hold.
Third-order effects
- If this multi-partner model persists, hyperscaler AI chips may be built through more modular supplier networks rather than around a single long-term design partner.
- The pattern points to custom AI hardware becoming a supply-chain strategy as much as a chip-design strategy, with supplier diversification balancing continuity and control.
The trend: Hyperscalers are broadening the supplier base behind proprietary AI accelerators without abandoning incumbent partners outright.