MediaTek Inc. is making an aggressive push beyond its smartphone chip dominance with the launch of its first 3-nanometer processor for Chromebooks, aiming to outperform Intel’s offerings in the growing AI-capable laptop market.
The Taiwan-based chipmaker unveiled the Kompanio Ultra processor on April 2, featuring 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI processing power that enables on-device generative AI capabilities. The processor boasts an “all-big-core” design with an Arm Cortex-X925 processor running at up to 3.62GHz.
In direct comparisons with Intel, MediaTek claims the Kompanio Ultra delivers 18% faster single-thread performance and 40% more multi-thread processing than Intel’s Core Ultra 5 chips, while using half the power. The company even highlights that the new processor can deliver 250% higher frame rates in Minecraft compared to Intel’s 125U.
Adam King, MediaTek’s vice president and general manager of computing and multimedia business, said the company worked closely with Google to ensure next-generation on-device AI capabilities for the newest Chromebook Plus devices.
The new processor uses the same Armv9 CPU cores that are integrated into Nvidia’s GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip used in personal AI supercomputers. The chip also supports Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and can drive up to two external 4K displays.
MediaTek has clarified that the processor is designed exclusively for Chromebooks and won’t be used in Windows devices. Manufacturers are expected to release Chromebook Plus models featuring the new processor “in the coming months”.
The chipmaker’s expanded focus comes as it already ships approximately 2 billion chips annually across various product categories including smartphones, smart TVs, voice assistants, and automotive solutions.
