OpenAI holds talks with Broadcom about developing new AI chip - reports

Broadcom has a significant presence in Cork following its acquisition of VMWare in a blockbuster deal at the end of last year

Fri, 19 Jul, 2024 - 07:57

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is in discussion with chip designers, including US semiconductor company, Broadcom about developing a new artificial intelligence chip, the Information reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

OpenAI is exploring the idea of making AI chips on its own to overcome the shortage of expensive graphic processing units that it relies on to develop AI models such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, and DALL-E3.

Broadcom has a significant presence in Cork following its acquisition of VMWare in a blockbuster deal at the end of last year.

The sale marked one of the largest in tech history, with a deal worth $69bn.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI is hiring former Google employees who produced the online search giant's own AI chip, the tensor processing unit, and has decided to develop an AI server chip, the report added, citing three people who have been involved.

"OpenAI is having ongoing conversations with industry and government stakeholders about increasing access to the infrastructure needed to ensure AI's benefits are widely accessible," a spokesperson for OpenAI told the Information.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has plans to raise billions of dollars for setting up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors with chipmakers Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung Electronics as potential partners.

Reporting from Bloomberg and the Irish Examiner.