OpenAI is developing its own chip that will power a new generation of smartphones focused on working with artificial intelligence agents. To implement this project, the developer ChatGPT is collaborating with Qualcomm and MediaTek.
OpenAI is developing its own chip that will power a new generation of smartphones focused on working with artificial intelligence agents. To implement this project, the developer ChatGPT is collaborating with Qualcomm and MediaTek.
The company’s plans were announced by well-known TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. According to him, OpenAI is already actively consulting with partners, and mass production of processors is planned for 2028. Luxshare is to become the exclusive assembler of new chips.
Choosing Qualcomm and MediaTek as partners allows OpenAI to avoid spending resources on developing the underlying compute and graphics cores from scratch, focusing on AI acceleration blocks. Specifications and a final list of component suppliers are expected to be determined by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
This approach is reminiscent of Google’s strategy with Tensor chips, where the emphasis is not on pure power, but on the speed of processing specific AI tasks. According to Kuo, in the future, users will abandon traditional applications in favor of intelligent agents capable of performing complex tasks autonomously.
«AI agents will be a key feature of future smartphones. Users will rely on them instead of apps. For OpenAI to be able to provide such an experience, it will need full control over the hardware and software,» the analyst notes.
OpenAI already has experience with hardware: the company is working with Broadcom to create chips for data centers to optimize the costs of training models in the cloud. Its own smartphone will allow the company to create a closed ecosystem and offer subscriptions to AI services bundled with the device, competing with Apple and Google.
Recall that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary designer Jony Ive, known for working on key Apple products, are working on an innovative display-free AI device, which could become a new format for interacting with artificial intelligence in everyday life.
