OpenAI to develop and manufacture first chips with Broadcom and TSMC, scales back ambitions for own manufacturing

It has been revealed that OpenAI will work with Broadcom and TSMC to design and manufacture its new chips.

Exclusive: OpenAI builds first chip with Broadcom and TSMC, scales back foundry ambition | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/openai-builds-first-chip-with-broadcom-tsmc-scales-back-foundry-ambition-2024-10-29/

In order to meet the rapidly growing demand for AI, OpenAI had shown an interest in developing its own chips as of October 2023.

OpenAI, which develops ChatGPT, is reportedly moving to develop its own chip - GIGAZINE

In addition, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman planned to raise hundreds of trillions of yen in order to 'expand global semiconductor production capacity' and to build a 'network of AI chip manufacturing plants' consisting of multiple semiconductor factories to solve the chip shortage.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to raise hundreds of trillions of yen in funding to 'rebuild the semiconductor industry'; it has been reported that he has already met with Masayoshi Son and influential figures in the UAE - GIGAZINE

OpenAI was also expected to manufacture its own chips in its own factories , but a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity that 'given the cost and time required to build a network of AI chip foundries, the company has temporarily halted its plans for a chip foundry and will instead focus on designing chips in-house.'

To design its own chip, OpenAI recruited top engineers Thomas Norrie and Richard Ho, who had experience developing the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) at Google, and formed a team of about 20 people.

OpenAI's proprietary chip is being designed with the cooperation of Broadcom, with a focus on 'inference'. Previous chips were developed with a focus on performance during training, but OpenAI believes that the demand for inference chips will increase as AI applications become more widespread.

The company is continuing to consider whether to develop or acquire additional components needed for the chip design, and may also partner with additional companies.

It was also reported that the company has secured the manufacturing capacity of TSMC through Broadcom for the production of chips, with production scheduled to start in 2026.