OpenAI Works With MediaTek and Qualcomm on Mobile Processors, Targets AI Agent Phone for 2028

OpenAI wants to move generative AI beyond apps and into the core of smartphones. By gaining control over processors, operating systems and device design, it aims to enable AI agents to proactively handle tasks such as searches, communications and transactions. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said MediaTek, Qualcomm and Luxshare would be key suppliers and could support a new ecosystem combining hardware with subscription services.

Kuo initially estimated that OpenAI’s AI agent phone would enter mass production in 2028. Recent supply-chain reports, however, say the timetable has been brought forward to the first half of 2027. MediaTek may also secure the processor orders exclusively, rather than sharing supply with Qualcomm. If the revised plan materializes, OpenAI will enter the smartphone market at least six months earlier than originally scheduled.