OpenAI Mobile Supply Chain: Ming-Chi Kuo Predicts MediaTek Will Dominate Processors, Mass Production Expected as Early as 2027

Analysts point out that OpenAI is accelerating the development of AI phones, with mass production expected as early as the first half of 2027. MediaTek is expected to secure exclusive orders for customized chips.

Hong Kong Tianfeng International Securities analyst Guo Mingchi only announced on April 27 that OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, is collaborating with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop a smartphone processor, with Luxshare Precision serving as the exclusive system design and manufacturing partner, with a projected mass production date as early as 2028. This sparked a reimagining in the market: OpenAI’s hardware strategy may not just be about creating a device equipped with ChatGPT, but about redefining smartphones as “AI Agent Phones.”

• Related news: Rumors that OpenAI is launching a phone? Guo Mingchi highlights MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare as key suppliers

By May 5, Guo Mingchi further added to the latest industry survey, describing the development progress of OpenAI’s first AI Agent phone more optimistically. He indicated that OpenAI might be accelerating the development of its first AI Agent phone, with the goal of mass production as early as the first half of 2027. This suggests that the latest schedule could be about six months to a year earlier than the previously mentioned “mass production by 2028” on April 27.

Guo Mingchi believes that OpenAI’s reason for speeding up phone development may include benefiting the narrative for a year-end IPO and the accelerating competition in AI Agent phones. In other words, if OpenAI can clearly demonstrate its hardware strategy before the IPO, it can not only strengthen its growth story around “AI operating systems” and “AI personal agent portals,” but also show the capital markets that it is not just a cloud-based model company, but one with the potential to enter the next-generation consumer computing platform.

From joint development with Qualcomm and MediaTek to MediaTek potentially securing exclusive processor orders

In the April 27 version, Guo Mingchi mentioned that OpenAI is collaborating with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors, with the supply chain still showing a competitive or co-developing landscape.

However, the May 5 update shows a clearer shift: Guo Mingchi pointed out that MediaTek is now more likely to secure exclusive orders for OpenAI’s AI Agent phone processors. The device is expected to use a customized version based on Dimensity 9600, manufactured by TSMC’s N2P process in the second half of 2026.

This shift is quite significant. If MediaTek ultimately wins the processor order exclusively, it would mean that it is not just a participant in OpenAI’s phone supply chain, but could become the core chip platform provider for the first-generation AI Agent phones. For MediaTek, which has long been chasing Qualcomm in the high-end mobile chip market, making OpenAI’s phone a new benchmark for AI devices could be a major revaluation of its brand and technological standing.

Especially since the focus of the OpenAI phone will not just be on traditional CPUs, GPUs, or communication specs, but on how to support AI Agents in understanding contexts, processing tasks, managing memory, and scheduling cloud models over long periods. This greatly increases the importance of customized processors.

Key specifications: ISP, dual NPU, LPDDR6, UFS 5.0, and security architecture

On May 5, Guo Mingchi also provided more specific details about the specifications. He indicated that the customized chip for the OpenAI AI Agent phone will enhance the ISP’s high dynamic range output, which is beneficial for real-world visual perception, making it a key feature.

This also aligns with the core logic of the AI Agent phone. If the phone is to serve as an entry point for AI agents, it cannot rely solely on text input but must understand the user’s environment, images, scenes, and real-time states. Cameras and sensors are no longer just tools for taking photos but vital data sources for AI Agents to understand the real world. Therefore, high dynamic range output in the ISP may be designed to ensure stable visual perception in complex lighting, indoor-outdoor switching, and moving scenes.

Other key specifications include a dual NPU architecture, LPDDR6 paired with UFS 5.0, and security features like pKVM with inline hashing.

Total shipments around 30 million units in 2027 and 2028

Guo Mingchi also provided a clearer shipment forecast. If development proceeds smoothly, the OpenAI AI Agent phone is expected to ship about 30 million units combined in 2027 and 2028.

While this number still falls short of iPhone annual shipments, it is a very aggressive target for a new brand and a new type of AI phone. If OpenAI can start mass production in the first half of 2027, it suggests that the device is not just an experimental hardware or niche developer device but aims to enter the mainstream consumer smartphone market.

This also makes the April 27 supply chain assessment more meaningful for investment. Guo Mingchi pointed out that if OpenAI initially targets the global high-end smartphone market, which has an annual shipment scale of about 300 to 400 million units; now, if the first-generation product can reach 30 million units in 2027 to 2028, it indicates that OpenAI at least hopes to make AI Agent phones a scalable new product category, rather than just a concept for AI hardware.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Chain News》
• Original title: 《OpenAI Phone Supply Chain Update: MediaTek Exclusive Processor? Mass Production Accelerated to First Half of 2027》
• Original author: Neo