OpenAI is developing an AI processor for smartphones in cooperation with MediaTek and Qualcomm, and Luxshare has been selected as the exclusive co-design and manufacturing partner for the system, Apple-focused analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (밍치궈) said on social media platform X (Twitter) on April 27 (local time).

Based on information circulating in the industry, OpenAI is aiming to begin mass production in 2028, Kuo said. He expects product specifications and suppliers to be finalised in late 2026 to the first quarter of 2027.

According to Kuo, there are three reasons OpenAI wants to make smartphones itself.

First, it needs to control both the operating system and hardware to deliver a complete AI agent service. Second, smartphones are the only devices that capture users' real-time status, making them the most important input channel for AI agent inference. Third, smartphones are expected to retain their status as the device with the largest user base.

"AI agents are fundamentally changing the concept of smartphones. It is shifting from users directly operating multiple apps to a model where users say what they want and the agent handles it," Kuo said.

He said the processor design focuses on power consumption, memory hierarchy management and running small models to continuously grasp user context. Complex or compute-intensive tasks are handled by cloud AI.

The project is also important for Luxshare. With Foxconn's dominant position in Apple's supply chain difficult to surpass, Kuo said early entry into the next-generation smartphone supply chain could become a new growth driver.