MediaTek beats Qualcomm (QCOM.US) to release the first 2nm mobile chip, Dimensity 9600 Pro, with greatly improved on-device AI performance.

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that MediaTek on Tuesday released a new smartphone chip built using TSMC's most advanced manufacturing process, aiming directly at the high-end smartphone market—its semiconductor products enable more AI functions to run directly on the device end. This move is part of MediaTek’s overall strategy to contend with its American rival Qualcomm for the high-end smartphone market, where higher device prices and AI features allow chipmakers to achieve better profit margins.

First 2nm Flagship, Leading by a Week

MediaTek stated that the Dimensity 9600 Pro is its first mobile processor based on TSMC's cutting-edge 2nm process technology. The company also released the Dimensity 9600M, built on TSMC’s 3nm process, targeting a broader flagship phone market. The first smartphones using these two chips will soon be available, with earlier shipments already made to Chinese smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo.

According to MediaTek’s official press release, the Dimensity 9600 Pro uses a 2+3+3 all-big-core CPU architecture (featuring two C2-Ultra super large cores clocked up to 4.55GHz), equipped with 34.5MB cache, and is the first to support LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 flash storage. Its single-core performance improves by 17% over the previous generation, multi-core performance by 15%, and power consumption under peak multi-core performance is reduced by 61%.

AI is the focus of this chip generation: The 9600 Pro integrates a dual NPU architecture, where the "ultra-performance NPU" supports on-device execution of hybrid expert (MoE) models with up to 30 billion parameters; the "ultra-efficiency NPU," in conjunction with the sensor hub, reduces always-on perception power consumption by 40%.

The 9600 Pro comes with a dedicated AI processor (NPU). According to MediaTek, it can process more complex generative AI applications directly on the phone—the NPU's user prompt handling (i.e., prefill stage before AI model response generation) is 51% more efficient than the previous generation.

The timing of the release is a carefully planned move. Qualcomm will host the Snapdragon Summit next week (September 22-24) to release the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, which also employs TSMC’s second-generation 2nm (N2P) process—marking the second consecutive year that MediaTek releases its flagship chip ahead of Qualcomm. Leaked benchmarks show the Dimensity 9600 Pro’s Geekbench 6 single-core score is around 4100-4300, already approaching the level of Apple’s in-house chips (not officially verified). Supply chain leaks indicate that the vivo X500 series (launching late September) and the OPPO Find X10 series will be among the first to feature the Dimensity 9600 series chips.

Ambition for Market Share amid Price Hikes

Pricing is the other side of this competition. Hsieh Ching-Chuan, Senior Vice President of MediaTek, said the company is working with phone makers to try to limit the impact of rising component costs on consumers—while the AI boom is putting pressure on the supply chain. However, he also sees an opportunity: As advanced hardware and new AI features make higher pricing more common, “as the overall market moves toward higher price bands, I believe we still have room to improve our share in the flagship segment.”

The context is the continued rise in flagship smartphone prices: Apple’s newly released foldable iPhone last week is priced up to $3,199 for the highest storage version in the US. According to previous reports, MediaTek has already indicated it will "strategically adjust pricing and production capacity" to maintain profit margins—analysts warn that with both wafer complexity and memory prices rising, flagship chip prices will increase significantly. MediaTek has reason for confidence: Its market value earlier this year has already surpassed Qualcomm.

TSMC’s “Take-All” Moment

No matter whether MediaTek or Qualcomm wins this round, the winner in manufacturing is already clear. TSMC’s 2nm (N2) process will enter mass production at both Hsinchu and Kaohsiung in the fourth quarter of 2025, with yields topping 80%, far exceeding industry expectations. The second-generation 2nm N2P process will ramp up production in the second half of this year, offering 5%-10% lower power consumption or 5%-10% higher performance than N2. Industry data shows that 2nm processes offer about 10%-15% better performance at equivalent power over 3nm, or cut power consumption by about 25%-30% at the same performance.

Capacity Scarcity

By the end of 2025, TSMC’s monthly 2nm capacity will only be about 15,000-20,000 wafers, expected to expand to 80,000-100,000 wafers by the end of 2026. To meet demand, TSMC plans to build 10 2nm plants in Taiwan and the US combined. Apple has reportedly secured more than half of the initial 2nm capacity—one of the practical reasons for both Qualcomm and MediaTek turning to N2P. Morgan Stanley predicts that in 2026 TSMC’s N2 process will account for 90%-95% market share at the 2nm node.

Apple’s A20 Pro uses the first-generation N2 process, while the Dimensity 9600 Pro jumps straight to N2P—some third-party analyses believe its performance has already surpassed Apple’s N2-based chips launched in the same period.

MediaTek’s Bigger Play: From Phones to Data Centers

Beyond smartphone chips, MediaTek’s AI strategy is accelerating. One of the world’s largest smartphone chip design companies, it has expanded its AI business into data centers and custom chip products—with tech companies pouring billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. Its first AI accelerator designed for a major US cloud service provider is expected to enter mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.

MediaTek’s capital activity is also notable: Last month the company raised $3.9 billion through a convertible bond offering, with Nvidia participating to the tune of $3.5 billion, and Google’s parent company Alphabet—a long-term partner in the AI infrastructure sector—also joined the subscription. On August 31, Nvidia and MediaTek also jointly announced plans to further deepen their long-term partnership to build an AI computing platform spanning from the edge to the cloud.

Just a week ago, ASML confirmed lithography equipment orders are fully booked through 2027, and Bernstein was still debating the sustainability of AI spending. Now, the launch of MediaTek’s 2nm chip provides another tangible footnote to the ‘AI hardware arms race’—at least on TSMC’s production lines, no one plans to press the brakes.