Much more likely is that MediaTek was willing to invest what's needed (i.e. agree to TSMC's asking price) to catch up to / overtake Qualcomm. Qualcomm as incum

Much more likely is that MediaTek was willing to invest what's needed (i.e. agree to TSMC's asking price) to catch up to / overtake Qualcomm. Qualcomm as incumbent could've taken too much time trying to negotiate a lower price (e.g. "if you don't lower your price, we'll go to Samsung!").