Update Nvidia has taken on its third chip foundry partner. It's long-standing chip maker TSMC and recent signing IBM will now be joined by local arch-rival UMC

Before anyone rushes to view the move as another poke in the eye for TSMC, the arrangement - confirmed by the company, according to a report in Taiwan's Economic News newspaper - marks no significant move on Nvidia's part.

Having announced its intention to buy MediaQ, the company simply plans to retain MediaQ's fabrication partner as and when the takeover is completed. Indeed, Nvidia today said that it has completed the acquistion.

So, UMC will continue to punch out MediaQ product, specifically the MQ1000, MQ2000 and MQ9000 media processors.

The real test will come when those parts eventually fall off of Nvidia's own list of offerings. Will next-generation versions of MediaQ's offerings, which are likely to blend MediaQ's SoC expertise with Nvidia's graphics no-how, be produced by UMC, or one of Nvidia's own preferred partners? Multiple partners saves a company from risking all on the mistakes of one foundry, but it reduces the buying power it has with a single partner.

We shall see. ®