OpenAI is reportedly planning to send its first in-house chip for tape-out to TSMC in the upcoming months in an attempt to reduce its reliance on NVIDIA.
OpenAI’s Chip Is Expected To Feature TSMC’s 3nm Process Along With High Performance, Likely To Counter NVIDIA’s Influence
Well, it seems like OpenAI is planning to join the likes of Google and Amazon in having an arsenal of its custom-built AI accelerators, and it might not be long before we see the company’s AI chips debuting in the market. In a new report by Reuters, it is now claimed that OpenAI is proceeding towards finalizing the design of its project, after which they will be sent out to TSMC to manufacture the initial batch, which we call the “tape-out” stage. This move is said to be OpenAI’s plan to influence the chip supply, targeting the likes of NVIDIA into negotiating for better prices or supply.
While details surrounding OpenAI’s first in-house chip are uncertain for now, the project is expected to utilize TSMC’s 3nm process. Since OpenAI gave up on self-manufacturing a while ago, the venture will likely have partners like Broadcom. However, OpenAI still needs a lot of work since the first tape-out attempt often requires design revisions, which means re-evaluating the whole chip and pushing the release timeline even further.
Interestingly, OpenAI’s in-house project is said to be led by Richard Ho, a former Google engineer who is a key figure in the company’s AI chip ambitions. While the firm doesn’t have a large employee base for its custom chip project, the firm plans to scale up the project massively if it sees success from its first venture. This chip will likely give OpenAI access to a wider range of computing portfolio, and at the same time, act as a negotiating tool as well.
The custom ASIC race is definitely on for everyone, mainstream AI giants, since it translates into a more effective price-to-performance ratio, and since these chips are tailored for custom workloads, it ultimately gives companies the ability to squeeze out a more valued performance compared to chips from NVIDIA. And since chip suppliers can’t afford to lose customers, they ultimately show ease in the negotiating process, creating a win-win situation for firms like OpenAI.
