San Francisco, Nov 23 (IANS): As Taiwanese chip manufacturer MediaTek reportedly plans to launch its ARM-based chips for Windows-powered computers, a report has claimed its rival Qualcomm has an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on ARM, which is set to expire soon.

XDA Developers report that Qualcomm has always had a strong relationship with Microsoft.

Windows on ARM was first announced by Microsoft and Qualcomm in 2016.

If Microsoft's exclusive deal with Qualcomm is about to end, this could open opportunities for several players like Samsung, MediaTek, and Apple's M1 chips which could eventually support Windows on Arm.

Microsoft has also been working on designing its own Arm-based processors for servers and future Surface devices. It uses Intel-based chips for the majority of its Azure cloud services and its Surface lineup runs on Intel chips.

Last week, reports surfaced that MediaTek is planning to launch its ARM-based chips for Windows-powered computers in a few years. The chip maker is also building 5G modems for Intel-powered PCs and has entered into a partnership with the company in 2019.

MediaTek already has a presence in the segment of computers. It offers low-end and entry-level chips for Chromebooks.