[News] OpenAI Reportedly to Finalize In-House AI Chip Design Soon, Set for TSMC’s 3nm Production

---

---

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is set to finalize its first in-house AI chip design in the coming months, taking a key step toward reducing its reliance on NVIDIA. According to Reuters, the company is expected to send the chips to TSMC for fabrication soon as it aims for mass production in 2026.

Notably, the report suggests that TSMC is producing OpenAI’s AI chip on its 3nm process, featuring a systolic array, HBM, and strong networking—similar to NVIDIA’s design.

OpenAI and TSMC declined to comment, according to Reuters.

However, sources cited by Reuters note that OpenAI’s AI chip, though capable of training and running models, will initially have a limited role. Meanwhile, OpenAI sees its AI chip as a strategic move to gain leverage over suppliers, as highlighted in the report.

OpenAI’s in-house team, led by ex-Google chip expert Richard Ho, has doubled to 40 members and is co-developing the AI chip with Broadcom, the report adds.

OpenAI is certainly not the only tech giants working on their in-house chips. Microsoft and Meta have also been struggling with in-house chips for years, the Reuters report notes. Though DeepSeek’s breakthrough raises doubts about future chip demand, soaring costs and NVIDIA reliance are pushing firms, including OpenAI, to seek alternatives, the report says.

With AI training and operational costs surging, LLM developers need massive computing power, with some projects using thousands of processors. Training models like GPT-4 alone can cost hundreds of millions, according to AI Magazine.

Read more

• [News] TSMC’s A16 Process Creates a Buzz Before Mass Production, as OpenAI Reportedly Secures Capacity
• [News] OpenAI’s Bold Vision: Investing Heavily to Build 36 Wafer Fabs

(Photo credit: OpenAI)