--- title: "Google has nearly 100 TPU customers, Oracle will resell them, and MediaTek's Q4 guide depends on it" description: "The newly opened TPU business is the program behind MediaTek's first data-center chip, and MediaTek's fourth-quarter guide needs a 41–52% revenue step-up in November and December to cash it. SK hynix and Samsung stand to gain a direct Google memory channel; Micron appears nowhere in the reporting on it." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-12T14:12:25.702Z modified: 2026-11-12T14:12:25.702Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/google-has-nearly-100-tpu-customers-oracle-will-resell-them-and-mediatek-s-q4-guide-depends-on-it language: en keywords: "Google, MediaTek, TPU, Chips, HBM" --- # Google has nearly 100 TPU customers, Oracle will resell them, and MediaTek's Q4 guide depends on it > The newly opened TPU business is the program behind MediaTek's first data-center chip, and MediaTek's fourth-quarter guide needs a 41–52% revenue step-up in November and December to cash it. SK hynix and Samsung stand to gain a direct Google memory channel; Micron appears nowhere in the reporting on it. Google has turned its tensor processing units, the AI chips it designs in-house, into a business beyond its own walls: nearly 100 TPU customers, [Oracle](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/oracle) reselling the chips through its cloud next year, and system sales that helped lift [Google](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/alphabet) Cloud's third quarter, the Korea Herald reported on November 11 [1][2]. [MediaTek](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/mediatek), Taiwan's largest chip designer, sits inside the program: Google works with it on the TPU 8t [1], an assignment surfaced in late October by [Broadcom](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/broadcom), Google's main TPU development partner ([The Inference, October 27](https://theinference.org/article/broadcom-names-mediatek-as-alphabet-s-tpu-8t-partner-but-skeptics-say-it-gets-the-cheaper-die)). ## The guide rests on one ramp MediaTek's fourth-quarter guide turns the dependency into arithmetic. NT$210.1–221.8 billion of revenue, up 40–48% on the year, needs November and December to average 41–52% above October's NT$55.0 billion, [the hurdle The Inference laid out yesterday](https://theinference.org/article/mediatek-needs-november-and-december-to-jump-41-52-over-october-to-cash-its-q4-guide) [3]. [October grew 5.8% on the year](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/mediatek-stock-faces-a-tougher-q4-revenue-hurdle-after-october-update/70493233) while [Taiwan's AI server assemblers doubled their sales](https://mlq.ai/news/taiwans-ai-server-makers-doubled-october-sales-from-a-year-earlier-as-wistron-gigabyte-and-quanta-led/) [3][4]. The guide leans on US$2.5 billion of Q4 revenue from a first custom AI accelerator, an ASIC built for a single customer and shipping in small volumes only since September [3][5] ([The Inference, October 30](https://theinference.org/article/mediatek-s-first-ai-chip-adds-2-5-billion-of-q4-revenue-at-a-lower-margin-funded-by-nvidia-and-alphabet)). *Chart: **October sales growth split Taiwan's tech chain: AI racks doubled, MediaTek grew 5.8%** October 2026 revenue growth versus a year earlier for Taiwan AI server makers and MediaTek* *Consolidated October 2026 revenue versus October 2025, Taiwan Stock Exchange MOPS monthly filings compiled by MLQ.ai. Alchip left out (515.8% off a small base). Percent. [4]* *Chart: **November and December must run 41% to 52% above October's NT$55.0 billion** Columns showing MediaTek's October 2026 revenue of NT$55.0 billion against the NT$77.6 to 83.6 billion monthly average needed in November and December to hit the fourth-quarter guide* *MediaTek monthly revenue, NT$ billion. October 2026 as reported; November and December are the monthly average implied by the fourth-quarter guide of NT$210.1–221.8 billion, which needs those two months 41–52% above October. Implied figures, not reported ones. Source: MediaTek monthly revenue via ad-hoc-news.de. [3]* ## The ramp is bought with margin The 2027 ambition is about US$16 billion of accelerator revenue, [near a fifth of the AI accelerator market](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/taiwan-s-mediatek-eyes-20-share-of-global-ai-chip-market/ar-AA2guZtO); Taiwan News puts the same year at NT$525.8 billion [5][6][7]. A second ASIC customer is confirmed, but volume starts in 2028 [6][7]. Until then the ramp costs margin: gross profit is guided down to 45%, from 46.3% in the third quarter, and inventory has climbed to NT$153.5 billion, 127 days from 102 [3]. ## Google takes the memory buying back The same report rewrites who buys high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Under Broadcom's model the design partner also handles the memory purchases; Google buying directly could reduce its costs, which points to a margin sitting inside the design partner's price today [1][2]. [SK hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) has proposed co-designing custom HBM for future TPUs and holds agreements with 14 customers covering more than half its 2027–28 capacity; [Samsung's July memorandum with Broadcom](https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/artificial-intelligence/googles-expanding-ai-chip-business-opens-new-opportunities-for-samsung-sk-hynix-beyond-nvidia/135758713) is potentially worth more than $200 billion through 2030, across several businesses rather than confirmed HBM orders [1][2]. Counterpoint expects HBM demand for custom AI server chips to rise 35-fold between 2024 and 2028 [1]. [Micron](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/micron), the US memory maker, appears nowhere in the reporting on Google's new direct buying. ## December 10 decides which MediaTek is in One program is not yet a franchise, and the monthly sales print due December 10 decides which MediaTek is in [3]. The other watch sits with Google: the next HBM order book forms wherever Google buys its memory directly. ## Takeaway MediaTek's fourth-quarter guide needs November and December to average 41–52% above October's NT$55.0 billion, and the custom TPU accelerator ramp that has to deliver it is already costing margin: gross profit is guided down to 45% while inventory days climb to 127. ## Sources 1. [ET CIO, "Google's expanding AI chip business opens new opportunities for Samsung, SK hynix beyond Nvidia", 12 November 2026](https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/artificial-intelligence/googles-expanding-ai-chip-business-opens-new-opportunities-for-samsung-sk-hynix-beyond-nvidia/135758713) 2. [Asianet News via MSN, "Google chip expansion offers new opportunities for Korean memory firms", 11 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-in/technology/tech-companies/google-chip-expansion-offers-new-opportunities-for-korean-memory-firms/ar-AA2hcETQ) 3. [ad-hoc-news.de, "MediaTek stock faces a tougher Q4 revenue hurdle after October update", 12 November 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/mediatek-stock-faces-a-tougher-q4-revenue-hurdle-after-october-update/70493233) 4. [MLQ.ai, "Taiwan's AI server makers doubled October sales from a year earlier as Wistron, Gigabyte and Quanta led", 12 November 2026](https://mlq.ai/news/taiwans-ai-server-makers-doubled-october-sales-from-a-year-earlier-as-wistron-gigabyte-and-quanta-led/) 5. [ad-hoc-news.de, "MediaTek stock enters Q4 as AI accelerator shipments ramp", 12 November 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/mediatek-stock-enters-q4-as-ai-accelerator-shipments-ramp/70496721) 6. [Crypto Briefing, "MediaTek confirms second AI ASIC customer for 2028 production", 30 October 2026](https://cryptobriefing.com/mediatek-second-ai-asic-customer-2028/) 7. [IntelliNews via MSN, "Taiwan's MediaTek eyes 20% share of global AI chip market", 31 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/taiwan-s-mediatek-eyes-20-share-of-global-ai-chip-market/ar-AA2guZtO) --- Google has nearly 100 TPU customers, Oracle will resell them, and MediaTek's Q4 guide depends on it — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/google-has-nearly-100-tpu-customers-oracle-will-resell-them-and-mediatek-s-q4-guide-depends-on-it