Taiwanese developer MediaTek is set to join the pursuit of creating Arm-compatible processors for Microsoft Windows laptops, geared towards boosting artificial intelligence systems. This move is not a solo endeavour, as US firm Qualcomm has also been making strides in the same direction.
According to Reuters, this news sparked a positive response in the stock market, with MediaTek’s shares rising by 1.6% on Wednesday morning. This outperformed Taiwan’s stock market index, which saw a 0.5% rise. However, MediaTek’s first processor for this application will not be presented until the end of next year. This is due to the terms of an exclusivity agreement between Microsoft and Qualcomm, which grants the latter sole rights to supply the corresponding chips for Windows laptops. MediaTek will be capitalising on existing architectural solutions from Arm, significantly accelerating their processor development and preparation for mass production.
So far, there’s no precise information regarding whether the processor MediaTek is developing has been approved by Microsoft in terms of meeting the requirements of Copilot+. Arm partners typically spend over a year in the development of a new processor, including testing and debugging time. Microsoft’s agreement with Qualcomm stipulates that the latter holds the exclusive right to supply Arm-compatible processors for Windows laptops until the end of 2024. Qualcomm’s competitors will need some time for chip development, so alternative solutions will not immediately emerge following the contract’s expiration. Interestingly, MediaTek and Nvidia have long cooperated in PC processor development, yet if Nvidia provides a relevant solution, it will not be directly associated with MediaTek’s effort to offer an alternative to Qualcomm’s chips.
