Qualcomm rival MediaTek jumps 10% after $3.5 billion Nvidia AI chip deal

MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai (R) talks with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) during a keynote speech for Computex 2025 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall in Taipei on May 20, 2025. I-hwa Cheng | Afp | Getty ImagesShares of MediaTek closed 10% higher on Tuesday after the Taiwanese chip firm announced a partnership with Nvidia, bolstering its push into the data center market.Nvidia invested $3.5 billion in convertible bonds issued by MediaTek as part of the deal, the companies said on Monday, adding fuel to a near 200% rally in the Taiwanese firm's shares this year.MediaTek is the world's biggest smartphone chip company by market share, according to Counterpoint Research, and the main rival to U.S. giant Qualcomm. But MediaTek has recently looked to diversify by designing custom chips for data centres.Hyperscalers and other tech companies are increasingly building custom chips to run AI workloads. MediaTek is emerging as a player that can build these, posing a potential challenge to Broadcom, a market leader.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconMediaTek shares year-to-date.The partnership will see MediaTek offer Nvidia's NVLink Fusion platform for customers developing custom AI chips. T...