OpenAI Moves to Produce Its Own Chips, Weighing Samsung Electronics and TSMC as Manufacturers

OpenAI is considering outsourcing the production of its own AI chips to Samsung Electronics and Taiwan's TSMC, it was reported on the 27th (local time). OpenAI's in-house chip development is said to still be in its early stages. As OpenAI pushes forward with designing its own chips, the possibility of collaboration with foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) companies such as Samsung Electronics and TSMC has long been a topic of speculation. The chips will be paired with high-bandwidth memory (HBM). However, whether a contract has been signed, the specific production timeline, and the size of any deal have not yet been officially confirmed.

Until now, OpenAI has relied heavily on Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) for training and running its AI models. Nvidia's stock fell following the report.

OpenAI is not alone in making such a move. Microsoft has also reportedly been designing its own AI chips for its cloud services. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, was previously reported to be seeking investors for plans related to a new semiconductor manufacturing venture.