OpenAI has held talks with chip designers, including Broadcom, to discuss the possibility of developing a new AI server chip.

According to a report from The Information, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been spearheading the talks.

One source added that the server chip would be made to rival Nvidia hardware, but acknowledged that any such product is a long way from fruition, while its development risks upsetting Nvidia who are OpenAI’s biggest chip supplier at present.

The Information further reports that Altman is exploring plans to build data centers to house the chips. The data centers would be supported by one or more Altman-established companies, with investor funding used to purchase the necessary real estate, power, and specialized AI chip servers, which OpenAI would commit to renting.

Last year, DCD exclusively reported that OpenAI had hired former Lightmatter chip engineering lead and Google TPU head Richard Ho as the head of hardware at the generative artificial intelligence company. Broadcom was heavily involved in the development of Google's TPU AI chip.

In March 2024, job listings posted by OpenAI revealed it was looking to hire a team to "co-design future hardware from different vendors for programmability and performance."

It has previously been noted that Altman was pushing for OpenAI to develop its own AI chips. Before he was suddenly fired and then rehired by OpenAI in November 2023, Bloomberg reported that the CEO had been seeking investment to build an artificial intelligence chip company codenamed project ‘Tigris,' possibly more focused on the design of chips.

The following January, the news outlet separately claimed that Altman has been approaching high-worth individuals in the Middle East to discuss the potential for investment, looking to source between $5 and $7 trillion dollars worth of funding for his AI chip venture.

He also reportedly approached chip manufacturer TSMC around the same time to engage in discussions about getting the project off the ground.