OpenAI eyes MediaTek and Qualcomm

OpenAI is reportedly exploring an AI-first smartphone with MediaTek, Qualcomm and Luxshare, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and follow-on reports published Monday. (business-standard.com) (gadgets360.com) (digitimes.com) Kuo said OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm on smartphone processors, while Luxshare would be the exclusive partner for system co-design and manufacturing. He said mass production is targeted for 2028. (gadgets360.com) (business-standard.com) (the-decoder.com) Kuo also said OpenAI could lock down the device’s specifications and supplier list by late 2026 or early 2027, putting this beyond a loose concept stage if the timeline holds. (the-decoder.com) (androidpolice.com) The basic idea is an “AI agent phone”: a handset built to complete tasks directly, instead of sending users through a grid of separate apps. Kuo’s argument is that an assistant works better when it can reach system functions, sensors and context without another platform owner standing in the way. (business-standard.com) (ajupress.com) That helps explain why OpenAI would move from software into hardware. In May 2025, OpenAI said it was acquiring Jony Ive’s io after two years of collaboration on device ideas and folding the team into OpenAI. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) OpenAI has not publicly confirmed a phone project on its own site as of April 27, 2026. Its official announcement with Ive described “tangible designs” and a closer hardware effort, but did not name a smartphone, MediaTek, Qualcomm or Luxshare. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) The reports also fit a broader picture of OpenAI testing more than one device shape. Earlier coverage tied the company’s first hardware effort to a smaller, possibly screenless product planned before any full phone push. (pcmag.com) (builtin.com) Markets treated the report as meaningful for suppliers. MarketWatch said Qualcomm shares jumped more than 12% premarket after Kuo’s claim of an OpenAI partnership on smartphone processors. (marketwatch.com) If the project survives to production, OpenAI would be trying to build not just another handset but its own route to users, one that does not depend entirely on Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Android rules. (business-standard.com) (gadgets360.com)