OpenAI mulls phone with MediaTek

OpenAI is reportedly exploring a smartphone built around AI agents instead of a traditional grid of apps. (techcrunch.com) (cnbc.com) The report came from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm on smartphone processors and with Luxshare on device design and manufacturing. Kuo put mass production in 2028. (cnbc.com) (business-standard.com) Kuo’s supply-chain note said Luxshare would be the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner, with specifications and suppliers expected to be settled by late 2026 or early 2027. OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the phone project. (the-decoder.com) (business-standard.com) An AI agent phone is a device that tries to complete tasks for you directly, instead of making you hop between separate apps. Kuo’s reported idea is that simpler actions would run on the phone while heavier computing would be sent to cloud servers. (the-decoder.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) That model would require deeper control over the operating system and hardware than OpenAI gets through Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android distribution rules. TechCrunch said Kuo framed that control as necessary for a “comprehensive AI agent service.” (techcrunch.com) The timing fits OpenAI’s broader move into consumer hardware. Reuters reported earlier in 2025 that OpenAI bought io, the device startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a deal valued at about $6.5 billion. (reuters.com) That earlier reporting also described OpenAI’s planned hardware as something meant to sit alongside phones and laptops, not simply replace them. The new phone report points to a more direct move into the handset market, if Kuo’s supply-chain readout is borne out. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com) Investors treated the report as meaningful for suppliers. CNBC said Qualcomm shares were up about 7% just after Monday’s open after Kuo’s note tied the chipmaker to the project. (cnbc.com) For now, the story is still a supply-chain report, not a product launch. But it sketches a phone where the home screen matters less than the assistant behind it. (techcrunch.com) (cnet.com)