OpenAI is planning to build its own AI chips on TSMC's forthcoming 1.6nm A16 process node.

According to a report from United Daily News (UDN), OpenAI originally planned to use TSMC’s N5 process to manufacture the AI chips but has now opted for the A16 system instead.

The A16, a 1.6nm node, will eventually be the successor to the chip manufacturer’s N2 node. Both are still in development, with the N2 expected in 2025, and the A16 is not slated to be available until the second half of 2026. The A16 will be the company’s most powerful node to date when it goes into production and will use nanosheet transistor technology and a backside power delivery mechanism called Super Power Rail.

In response to a request for comment from UDN, TSMC said it does not comment on market rumors or single-customer business.

It was first reported in July 2024 that OpenAI had been in talks with chip designers to discuss the possibility of developing a new AI server chip. The company’s CEO Sam Altman has long been 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.

It was around that time that Altman reportedly first approached TSMC to engage in discussions about getting the project off the ground.