OpenAI is exploring the possibility of creating its own chips for artificial intelligence tasks
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is considering creating its own chips for artificial intelligence. According to sources familiar with the company’s plans, OpenAI is also considering the acquisition of a target company in the AI chip industry.
According to Reuters, the company has not yet made a final decision, but has already discussed various options for solving the problem of the shortage of expensive AI chips. The options under consideration include creating its own AI chip, strengthening cooperation with other chipmakers, including Nvidia, and diversifying suppliers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman advocates intensifying efforts to acquire additional AI chips. He has already noted the problem with the limited number of GPUs in the market, which is controlled by Nvidia with more than 80% share.
Efforts to get more chips are associated with two key problems: the shortage of modern processors and the high maintenance costs of the necessary equipment for the company’s products.
Since 2020, OpenAI has been developing its technology on a huge supercomputer built by Microsoft that uses 10,000 Nvidia GPUs.
The effort to develop its own chips could put OpenAI on the small list of tech giants like Google and Amazon that are looking to control chip development for their business needs.
However, it is unclear whether OpenAI will decide to develop its own chip. Such a move would require large expenditures, which could reach hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Acquiring a chipmaker can accelerate this process and reduce the cost of initial investment in building production lines.
Although OpenAI has not yet disclosed the name of a potential acquisition target, it is expected that any attempts to develop or acquire new chips will take several years.
Some large tech companies, such as Meta, have already had experience building their own processors, but with limited success. On the other hand, OpenAI’s main sponsor, Microsoft, is developing its own AI chip, which OpenAI is already testing.
After the launch of ChatGPT, the demand for specialized AI chips increased dramatically. Nvidia remains one of the few manufacturers that produce efficient AI chips and still dominates the market.
