Chipmakers AMD and Mediatek are said to be in talks to set up a new joint venture, according to a recent DigiTimes report. According to the media report, the joint venture would focus on 5G, Wi-Fi and other data transmission technologies at the system-on-chip (SoC) level, although both companies may also develop wired data transmission controllers. If this joint venture is real and comes to fruition, Mediatek's IP could end up being integrated with AMD's SoCs for laptops and other mobile devices. According to sources close to DigiTimes, all SoC designs resulting from the AMD and Mediatek joint venture would likely hit the market around 2024. While AMD has said it does not comment on market speculation and MediaTek has categorically denied the DigitTimes report, the two companies have collaborated in the past. To add Wi-Fi 6 to its AMD RZ608 chip, which debuted alongside the launch of the AYANEO handheld game console, AMD used technology from Mediatek. Although the module bears the AMD branding, it is actually a recognized version of Mediatek's MT7921K wireless communication module. The DigiTimes report also mentions that AMD wants to improve its laptops by integrating data transmission technologies. Given that Taiwan-based Mediatek is one of the most prolific SoC developers with a broad 5G portfolio, a joint venture could be a natural fit between the two companies. The move would also allow AMD to avoid using solutions developed by its biggest rival in the CPU space, Intel. AMD's acquisition of semiconductor manufacturing company Xilinx could come into play, and the joint venture could leverage its technology to create new wired and wireless high-speed data transmission controllers. We'll have to wait and see if a joint venture between AMD and Mediatek comes along, but there are plenty of reasons why the two companies' collaboration makes a lot of sense. Through Tom's Hardware