What Is SerDes and Why Is MediaTek Investing in It?

Every AI chipset needs to talk to other chipsets at lightning speed. That constant back and forth of data between processors, memory, and networking chipsets, is what actually limits how powerful an AI system can be.

This is where a technology called SerDes comes in, and it is slowly becoming one of the biggest bets MediaTek is making right now.

What Does SerDes Actually Mean?

SerDes stands for Serializer/Deserializer.

In simple terms, it takes wide, parallel data and squeezes it into a fast, single-lane stream so it can travel quickly between chips. SerDes does this by turning large volumes of parallel data into high-speed serial streams for transmission, then restoring them back into parallel data at the receiving end.

Picture a busy highway with many lanes merging into one super-fast lane, then splitting back into many lanes once traffic reaches its destination. That merge and split, done at incredible speed, is what SerDes handles inside a chip.

Why This Technology Suddenly Matters

SerDes controls efficient data movement between chips and memory, a bottleneck that can otherwise put a ceiling on AI performance.

As AI models keep growing, even the most powerful processor is useless if data cannot reach it fast enough. SerDes is what keeps that data flowing without delays.

MediaTek’s Push Into High-Speed SerDes

MediaTek’s current 112-gigabit-per-second SerDes chip uses a PAM-4 receiver design capable of over 52 decibels of loss compensation, built on a 4-nanometer process.

The company is now developing an even faster 224Gb/s version to expand its footprint in AI chip design.

This investment is already paying off. MediaTek has secured a key role in Google’s next-generation TPU supply chain, reportedly winning major orders by supporting a 336G proprietary SerDes solution.

Having this technology in-house also saves money, since MediaTek does not need to pay license fees to third-party IP vendors for it.

Competition in this space is intense. MediaTek has already pushed its SerDes to 200G, with 400G projects planned for 2026, and its 224G capability is proving central to winning major TPU programs from Google.

Why This Is a Big Deal

SerDes might sound like a small technical detail buried inside a chip. In reality, it is becoming core AI infrastructure.

For MediaTek, mastering this technology is not just about building faster chips. It is about earning a serious seat at the table in the global data center and AI chip business, going head to head with giants like Broadcom and Marvell.