Google Preparing to Partner with Taiwan's MediaTek on Next AI chip, Information Reports

A signage for Google is displayed near their office in Beijing, China, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
A signage for Google is displayed near their office in Beijing, China, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
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Google Preparing to Partner with Taiwan's MediaTek on Next AI chip, Information Reports

A signage for Google is displayed near their office in Beijing, China, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
A signage for Google is displayed near their office in Beijing, China, 04 February 2025. (EPA)

Alphabet's Google is preparing to partner with Taiwan's MediaTek on the next version of its AI chips, Tensor Processing Units, that will be made next year, the Information reported on Monday, citing people involved in the project.

However, Google has not cut ties with Broadcom, the chip designer it has worked with exclusively on the AI chips over the past several years, the report said, citing an employee at the San Jose-based company.

Like Nvidia,. Google also designs its own AI server chips, which it uses for internal research and development and also rents out to cloud customers, Reuters reported.

This approach gives Google a competitive edge in the AI race by reducing its reliance on Nvidia, even as rivals like Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta Platforms have seen a surge in demand for Nvidia chips.

Late last year, Google rolled out its sixth-generation TPU in a bid to give itself and its Cloud customers an alternative to Nvidia's chips, which are the most sought-after processors in the industry.

Google chose MediaTek partly because the Taiwanese firm has a strong relationship with TSMC and charges Google less per chip compared to Broadcom, the Information report added.

Google spent between $6 billion and $9 billion on TPUs last year, according to research firm Omdia, based on Broadcom's target for AI semiconductor revenue last year.



German Court Says Meta Can Use User Data to Train AI

The court ruled Meta is 'pursuing a legitimate end' by training AI with Facebook and Instagram user data. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
The court ruled Meta is 'pursuing a legitimate end' by training AI with Facebook and Instagram user data. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
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German Court Says Meta Can Use User Data to Train AI

The court ruled Meta is 'pursuing a legitimate end' by training AI with Facebook and Instagram user data. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
The court ruled Meta is 'pursuing a legitimate end' by training AI with Facebook and Instagram user data. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

A German court on Friday dismissed an injunction request brought by consumer protection groups to prevent US tech giant Meta from using user data from Facebook and Instagram to train artificial intelligence systems.
The higher regional court in Cologne concluded Meta, which owns both social media platforms, had not violated European Union law.

"Meta is pursuing a legitimate end by using the data to train artificial intelligence systems," the court said in a statement.

Feeding user data into AI training systems was allowed "even without the consent of those affected", it added.

Meta has announced plans to begin training AI models with data from Facebook and Instagram from Tuesday, said AFP.

The court said the balance of interests between the parties was in favor of allowing Meta to process user data to develop AI.

The training of AI systems "cannot be achieved by other equally effective, less intrusive means", the court said.

Among the reasons cited by judges was Facebook's intention to only use publicly available data that could also be found via search.

Meta had also "taken effective measures to significantly mitigate the impact" on users, the court said, including communicating the plans via its mobile apps.

The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Center, which brought the case, said it still found the use of user data "highly problematic".

"There are still considerable doubts about the legality," the organization's chief, Wolfgang Schuldzinski, said in a statement.

The Vienna-based privacy campaign group Noyb said last week it had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta over the plans to use user data for AI training.

The letter was the first step ahead of a possible injunction request or class-action lawsuit against Meta, the group said.