MediaTek to Start 2nm Chip Tape-Out in Q4 2025, Launch in 2026

The first 2nm chips are not expected to arrive until next year, with MediaTek reportedly sticking to TSMC’s third-generation 3nm process for its upcoming Dimensity 9500 launch later this year. However, the Taiwanese fabless semiconductor firm made it clear that it isn’t slowing down in its quest to become the world’s leading chipset provider as it has announced plans to have the tape-out process for its 2nm silicon get underway in Q4 2025.

MediaTek Begins Tape-Out for 2nm Chips in Late 2025, Aiming for Late 2026 Product Launch

Notably, MediaTek is not expected to announce its first 2nm product until the second half of 2026. The Q4 tape-out should provide the company with extra time to make optimizations and to have supplies on hand to meet customer demand, however. Tape-out on the MediaTek 2nm chips will reportedly kick off in September. For the unfamiliar, tape-out is the last step of chip design when you send the layout to the fab — in this case, TSMC — to get them to start making lots and lots of them.

This process involves millions in costs, and if the chip fails to meet performance targets, it must go back for another tape-out iteration. A MediaTek executive confirmed that the 2nm tape-out will start in September. Since TSMC began accepting orders for its next-generation 2nm process from April 1, an early start is beneficial. It allows MediaTek to fine-tune the chip so it can match the performance and efficiency of competitors like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2.

The upcoming 2nm SoC is expected to offer up to 15% better performance and 25% lower power consumption compared to the N3 node. However, MediaTek has yet to clarify if this comparison is against the N3E (second-generation 3nm) or the N3P (third-generation 3nm) process. Meanwhile, Qualcomm has announced its Snapdragon Summit 2025 for September 23, where the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 will likely be officially introduced to compete with the Dimensity 9500.

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