OpenAI mobile supply-chain update: MediaTek exclusive processor? Mass production schedule advanced to the first half of 2027

Hong Kong Tianfeng International Securities analyst Guo Mingqiang pointed out on April 27 that OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop intelligent smartphone processors, with Luxshare Precision serving as the exclusive system integration and manufacturing partner. Production is expected to begin as early as 2028. This prompted the market to rethink: OpenAI’s hardware strategy may not be limited to building a terminal device equipped with ChatGPT, but instead aims to redefine smartphones as an “AI Agent phone.”

On May 5, Guo Mingqiang further supplemented the latest industry survey, describing the development progress of OpenAI’s first AI Agent phone in more optimistic terms. He said OpenAI may be accelerating development of its first AI Agent phone, aiming for mass production as early as the first half of 2027. This suggests that compared with the “mass production as early as 2028” mentioned on April 27, the latest schedule may be brought forward by about half a year to a year.

(Guo Mingqiang: OpenAI is making an AI Agent phone—MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare are key supply-chain players)

Guo Mingqiang believes the reasons OpenAI is accelerating phone development may include making the story more favorable ahead of an IPO by year-end, as well as the fact that competition in AI Agent phones is intensifying. In other words, if OpenAI can clearly demonstrate its hardware-side layout before the IPO, it can not only strengthen the growth narrative of the “AI operating system” and the “AI personal agent entry point,” but also allow the capital market to see that it is not just a cloud-based model company—it may have an opportunity to move into the next-generation consumer computing platform.

From co-development between Qualcomm and MediaTek to MediaTek possibly getting the processor order exclusively

In the April 27 version, Guo Mingqiang said OpenAI is collaborating with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors, with the supply-chain roles still showing a state of multi-party competition or joint development.

But the May 5 update shows a clearer shift: Guo Mingqiang said that currently MediaTek is more likely to obtain the processor order exclusively for OpenAI’s AI Agent phone. The device is expected to use a customized version based on Dimensity 9600, and will be produced by TSMC using the N2P process in the second half of 2026.

This change is critical. If MediaTek ultimately wins the processor order alone, it would mean it is not just a participant in OpenAI’s phone supply chain, but potentially the core chip platform supplier for the first-generation AI Agent phones. For MediaTek, which has spent years catching up to Qualcomm in the high-end smartphone chip market, if OpenAI’s phone becomes a benchmark for the next generation of AI devices, it could mean an important reassessment of both its brand and technical standing.

In particular, the focus of an OpenAI phone would not be just traditional CPU/GPU or communication specifications, but how to support AI agents to understand context for long periods, handle tasks, manage memory, and schedule cloud models. This is also why the importance of a customized processor rises significantly.

Specification highlights: ISP, dual NPU, LPDDR6, UFS 5.0, and security architecture

In his May 5 update, Guo Mingqiang also added more specific direction on specifications. He said that the customized chipset for OpenAI’s AI Agent phone will strengthen ISP high-dynamic-range output, which benefits real-world visual perception—therefore becoming a key specification focus.

This aligns with the core logic of AI Agent phones. If the phone is to become the entry point for an AI agent, it cannot rely solely on text input; it must understand the environment the user is in, as well as images, scenarios, and real-time status. Cameras and sensors are no longer just tools for taking photos, but important data sources for the AI agent to understand the real world. Therefore, high-dynamic-range ISP output may be intended to ensure stable visual perception when switching between complex lighting conditions, indoors and outdoors, and in mobile scenarios.

Other key specifications include a dual NPU architecture, LPDDR6 paired with UFS 5.0, as well as a security design using pKVM with inline hashing.

Total shipments about 30 million units in 2027 and 2028 combined

Guo Mingqiang also provided more definite shipment estimates. If development goes smoothly, OpenAI’s AI Agent phone is expected to ship about 30 million units in total across 2027 and 2028.

Although this figure still falls far short of iPhone’s annual shipment volume, it is already a highly ambitious target for a brand-new brand and a new form factor of AI phones. If OpenAI can begin mass production in the first half of 2027, it would suggest it is not merely entering with experimental hardware or devices for niche developers, but attempting to enter the true consumer smartphone market.

This also makes the supply-chain judgment from April 27 more investment-relevant. At the time, Guo Mingqiang said that if OpenAI’s initial target is the global high-end smartphone market, that market has an annual shipment scale of about 300 million to 400 million units. Now, if the first-generation product can reach a 30 million unit-class level as early as 2027 to 2028, it means OpenAI at least hopes to make AI Agent phones a scalable new product category, rather than simply showcasing AI hardware concepts.

This article: OpenAI phone supply-chain update—MediaTek takes exclusive processor? Mass-production timeline brought forward to the first half of 2027, earliest appearing on Chain News ABMedia.