MediaTek is exploring the possibility of producing certain chips in the U.S. through TSMC's Fab 21 in Arizona, according to Corporate Vice President JC Hsu. If finalized, it would make MediaTek the first non-U.S. company to manufacture chips at the facility.

The plan, still under evaluation, targets automotive parts and components for regulated or strategically sensitive applications. While U.S.-made chips would be more costly than those produced in Taiwan, domestic manufacturing could help MediaTek address customer requirements and mitigate potential tariff risks.

One key hurdle is whether TSMC Arizona can secure IATF 16949 certification, required for automotive-grade production. The fab currently focuses on consumer and AI/HPC processors using N5 and N4 nodes, and it has not publicly confirmed support for automotive-qualified flows. Analysts note that unless such standards are met, MediaTek's U.S. output would likely be limited to non-safety-critical products like infotainment or connectivity chips, while ADAS and powertrain silicon would continue to rely on TSMC's Taiwan facilities.

Alongside these manufacturing discussions, MediaTek unveiled its latest flagship smartphone processor—the Dimensity 9500—at a launch event in Shenzhen. Built on TSMC's advanced 3nm N3P process, the chip packs an unprecedented 30 billion transistors and debuts Arm's new C1 CPU cores and Mali G1-Ultra GPU.

The Dimensity 9500 delivers PC-class CPU performance, console-level gaming graphics, and industry-leading AI acceleration. Benchmark results show single-core performance on par with Apple's A19 Pro and superior multi-core scores. MediaTek highlighted major efficiency gains as well, with CPU and GPU peak power consumption reduced by up to 55% and 42% respectively compared to the previous generation.

The chip also integrates a next-generation NPU 990 with dual architectures, boosting generative AI workloads and enabling large-scale language models to run directly on-device. Camera capabilities have been upgraded with the new Imagiq 1190 ISP, supporting up to 200MP stills and 4K 120fps video with advanced stabilization.

Vivo's upcoming X300 series will be the first smartphone to feature the Dimensity 9500, with other OEMs such as OPPO and Transsion expected to follow. MediaTek said the new processor underscores its push to expand share in the premium smartphone segment, a strategy that has helped it maintain the top global market position in smartphone SoC shipments for 19 consecutive quarters.