Apple is reportedly working on AI chips According to The Wall Street Journal, the initiative, codenamed Project ACDC, for “Apple Chips in Data Center,” will allow Apple to run artificial intelligence software on its own chips in data centers.
Apple did not immediately respond to Quartz’s request for comment, and the company did not provide comments to The Journal. The Journal’s unnamed sources did not provide a time frame for when the Apple chip would be released, if at all.
Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy is shrouded in mystery, but investors and consumers can expect company executives to shed airy on the roadmap and upcoming AI products at Apple’s global developer conference in early June. CEO Tim Cook alluded to the gigantic WWDC reveal in vague statements during the company’s last two earnings calls with investors.
“We see generative AI as a very key opportunity for our products, and we believe we have advantages that set us apart in that,” Cook said during Apple’s second-quarter earnings presentation on May 2. Cook said the company will reveal more “further in the coming weeks.”
There is no reason to believe that Apple’s initial products will run on its own AI chips.
“By all accounts, Apple’s AI will be available on the device at least from the beginning, and will likely operate third-party infrastructure rather than something the company builds itself.” Anduril CEO Palmer Lucky told Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde on Monday’s episode of the Bloomberg Technology podcast. “But one day I expect Apple to move to its own AI server environments.”
Having its own AI chip would assist Apple better compete with such devices Google, MetaAND Microsoftall of which have made strides in the AI race, in part by creating their own hardware.
Such custom AI chips, however, are not intended to compete with Nvidia – Google and Meta will not mass-produce general-purpose AI chips for other companies – but they could assist tech companies reduce spending on third-party products (i.e. Nvidia H100). Their growing independence may threaten Nvidia’s revenuesthat are largely dependent on the Gigantic Tech company’s customers.
