Apple is working with semiconductor company Broadcom to develop its first server chip designed to handle AI applications, The Information reported, citing three people familiar with the project. That's what it means.
Apple is known for designing its own chips for its devices, called Apple Silicon and primarily manufactured by TSMC. But these chips aren't necessarily designed to power AI processing.
Apple on Wednesday rolled out some long-awaited Apple Intelligence features to users with new iPhones and Macs, including ChatGPT integration. Apple plans to run much of the AI directly on the device, but certain tasks like Siri and Maps will be handled in the cloud, making heavy computing demands. And Apple plans to roll out even more generative AI capabilities in the coming years.
That's where Apple's new server chip, internally codenamed “Baltra,” comes in.
Sources told The Information that Broadcom and Apple are focusing on chip networking technology, which is critical for connecting devices to networks for AI processing. The company aims to complete the chip design within 12 months.