Cooperation Instead of Building a Global Semiconductor Network
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is partnering with U.S. semiconductor company Broadcom and the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company TSMC to develop its first proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) chip.
On the 29th (local time), major foreign media reported that OpenAI made this decision to diversify AI chip supply and reduce costs.
According to sources, OpenAI has secured TSMC's production capacity through Broadcom and plans to launch its first customized chip in 2026. However, the schedule may change. They also plan to use AMD chips.
Earlier in July, IT media The Information reported that OpenAI was in talks with Broadcom to develop its own AI chip.
Currently, NVIDIA's graphics processing units (GPUs) hold over 80% of the AI chip market share. OpenAI is considered one of the largest purchasers of NVIDIA GPUs because training and running generative AI like ChatGPT requires enormous costs and significant computing power. However, due to recent chip shortages and rising costs, companies such as Microsoft (MS), Meta, and OpenAI are exploring alternatives either in-house or through external vendors.
According to multiple sources, OpenAI is reviewing corporate acquisitions for chip design and may sign additional contracts with other partners.
There were earlier reports that OpenAI planned to use AMD chips through Microsoft Azure.
It appears that OpenAI has withdrawn its plan to build a global network for AI chip production.
Initially, OpenAI planned to internalize everything from chip design to production by creating a global network and raising large-scale capital necessary for building foundries. To establish a chip manufacturing network with global semiconductor companies, OpenAI visited South Korea twice and met with top executives from Samsung and SK.
According to sources, OpenAI abandoned the plan to build a foundry due to cost and time issues and decided to focus solely on chip design in-house instead.
Foreign media stated that OpenAI’s decision to develop its own chips and diversify supply, as one of the largest chip buyers, could have widespread impacts on the industry.
However, citing sources, foreign media reported that OpenAI is cautious about poaching NVIDIA personnel, as maintaining a good relationship with NVIDIA is essential to securing NVIDIA’s next-generation Blackwell chips.
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