Apple Working With TSMC to Make its Own AI Chips: WSJ

US tech giant Apple is working with Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC to develop its own artificial intelligence chips, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The iPhone-maker is looking to develop chips to run AI software in data centres, WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The project, internally codenamed as Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Centre), aims to leverage Apple’s chip design expertise for its server infrastructure, the report said.

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The server chip will likely focus on running AI models, also known as inference, rather than in training AI models, where Nvidia is dominant, the WSJ report said.

The company will work with TSMC, its chipmaking partner, to design and initiate production of such chips, the report added.

It is not yet known whether both companies have yielded a definitive result in the development of such AI chips, WSJ said.

‘Project ACDC’

Project ACDC has been in the works for several years and it is uncertain when the new chip will be unveiled, if ever, the WSJ report said.

Apple’s shares were 1% higher before the opening bell on Tuesday. TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares gained almost 2% to close near an all-time high.

Apple has emerged as a major chip designer in recent years, thanks to the success of its semiconductors that are used in the iPhone, iPads and Mac laptops.

Amid growing pressure due to a slow roll-out of AI services, CEO Tim Cook had last week signalled that Apple plans to unveil a raft of features powered by the technology in the coming months.

“We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we’re making significant investments,” Cook said last week.

At a virtual event later on Tuesday, Apple is expected to showcase new iPad models, some of which could come with a new chip aimed at speeding up AI tasks carried out on the devices.

But precisely what AI features the new chips could power might not become fully clear until Apple holds its annual software developer conference next month.

Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has worked as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she is keenly interested in new economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]