Models & Labs
OpenAI Reveals Custom Chip 'Jalapeño' with Broadcom
TechCrunch AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →Custom chips like Jalapeño can significantly reduce operational costs for AI companies.
- →This development allows OpenAI to optimize its entire tech stack, enhancing performance and reliability.
- →Reducing reliance on Nvidia GPUs could lead to more competitive AI infrastructure solutions.
OpenAI has announced its first custom-built inference processor, Jalapeño, created in partnership with Broadcom. This chip is designed to enhance the efficiency of OpenAI's AI models, offering improved performance-per-watt over current alternatives. The development marks a strategic move to reduce dependence on Nvidia GPUs, aligning with similar efforts by tech giants like Google and Amazon. Jalapeño is specifically optimized for inference tasks, which could significantly lower operational costs for OpenAI's real-time coding models. This development underscores OpenAI's commitment to optimizing its entire technology stack for better performance and affordability.
Read originalThe story around this
Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.
How we got here
- 1OpenAI Unveils New Spud AI Model
AI Explained · March 26, 2026 · Background
- 2OpenAI's GPT-5.5 Testing Shows Promising Results
Wes Roth · April 21, 2026 · Background
- 3OpenAI announces GPT-5.5 availability
Matthew Berman · April 23, 2026 · Background
- 4OpenAI Launches GPT-5.5 as Advanced AI Model
AI News · April 29, 2026 · Background
- 5OpenAI unveils GPT-5.5 Instant System Card
OpenAI · May 5, 2026 · Background
- 6OpenAI reportedly developing phone for ChatGPT
The Verge AI · May 5, 2026 · Background
- 7OpenAI accelerates AI phone development for 2027
The Rundown AI · May 6, 2026 · Related
- 8NVIDIA Launches Vera CPU for Agentic AI
NVIDIA Blog · May 18, 2026 · Background
What happened next
- 9OpenAI's Jalapeño Chip Boosts AI Inference Efficiency
OpenAI · August 25, 2026 · Same story
- 10OpenAI's Jalapeño Chip Outperforms Nvidia in AI Tasks
The Verge AI · August 25, 2026 · Same story
- 11OpenAI's Jalapeño Chip Outperforms in Benchmarks
TechCrunch AI · August 25, 2026 · Same story
- 12OpenAI unveils Jalapeño AI chip, outperforms Nvidia
The Rundown AI · August 26, 2026 · Same story
- 13OpenAI Releases Jalapeño Inference Results
Matt Wolfe · August 28, 2026 · Same story
Follow this story
Open the full story →OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized chip
8 developments
- Jun 24 · OpenAI
OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized chip - Jun 24 · The Verge AI
OpenAI unveils Jalapeño AI processor - Jun 24 · TechCrunch AI
OpenAI Reveals Custom Chip 'Jalapeño' with Broadcom (This article) - Jun 25 · The Rundown AI
OpenAI unveils Jalapeño, its first custom AI chip - Jun 25 · The AI Daily Brief
OpenAI Develops Custom Chip 'Jalapeño' - Jun 26 · TechCrunch AI
OpenAI Develops Custom Jalapeño Chip with Broadcom - Jun 26 · TechCrunch AI
OpenAI Develops Custom Chip, Jalapeño, with Broadcom - Jul 3 · Lev Selector
OpenAI Develops 'Jalapeno' AI Chip for LLM Inference
More from TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AIMarket & Regulationother
Judge allows NAACP lawsuit over xAI pollution to proceed
xAI's attempt to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act lawsuit failed after a federal judge ruled that its gas turbines are not exempt mobile sources and that plaintiffs have standing. This legal setback confirms that AI infrastructure operators cannot bypass environmental permitting by classifying heavy industrial equipment as temporary or mobile. The ruling forces xAI to face scrutiny over air quality impacts at its Colossus data center, setting a precedent for how large-scale compute facilities are regulated under existing environmental laws.
TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AIInvestment · $20B
Market & Regulationbusiness
OpenAI cuts funding target to $20B amid tepid demand
OpenAI is scaling back its ambitions as investor appetite for massive AI infrastructure bets cools. The company has lowered its fundraising target from $30 billion to $20 billion, with only $11 billion secured so far against a valuation that has dropped from $1.4 trillion. This retreat signals a growing wariness among Wall Street investors regarding the capital intensity of the AI race, forcing even the most dominant players to adjust their financial expectations.
TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AIMarket & Regulationbusiness
Nvidia weighs guaranteeing Nscale debt for Anthropic data center
Nvidia is considering a residual value guarantee for Nscale’s $44.6 billion Anthropic data center in West Virginia, effectively co-signing the construction debt to keep the project alive. This move signals deepening financial entanglement between chipmakers and neocloud providers as investors grow jittery about massive capital expenditures. With Nscale struggling to deploy chips and facing local opposition, Nvidia’s backing aims to secure a major customer for its next-gen Vera Rubin hardware while mitigating risk for lenders. It marks a significant escalation in Nvidia’s financial involvement with neocloud providers beyond standard chip purchases. The arrangement would see Nvidia step in if Nscale defaults on construction payments, helping secure financing for the facility that will house Anthropic’s infrastructure using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips. Nscale, which is seeking a $35 billion IPO, has faced delays and local opposition, while Anthropic recently filed for its own public offering amid concerns over future credit ratings. This potential guarantee underscores the industry's reliance on chipmaker balance sheets to sustain multi-billion dollar infrastructure buildouts.
TechCrunch AI
More in Models & Labs
Models & Labsmodels
llama.cpp b12029 adds CUDA 13 and Snapdragon support
This release quietly cements llama.cpp as the universal inference runtime by finally supporting NVIDIA's latest CUDA 13 stack alongside AMD's ROCm 10.0. The inclusion of native builds for Linux arm64 with Snapdragon chips, covering CPU, Adreno GPU, and Hexagon NPU, signals a serious push into mobile edge deployment. While Apple Silicon KleidiAI is disabled in this specific build, the broader hardware coverage means developers no longer need to compile from source for most modern accelerators. It’s less about new features and more about removing friction for anyone running local models on bleeding-edge or diverse hardware.
llama.cpp Releases
© The Verge AIModels & Labsother
Apple Intelligence arrives in China via iOS 27.3
Apple is finally unlocking its AI suite for Chinese users with the iOS 27.3 beta, marking a significant regulatory milestone after months of approval delays. The rollout relies on Alibaba’s Qwen model rather than OpenAI, integrating features like notification summaries and visual intelligence directly into the OS. By sidestepping the new Siri in favor of established text and image tools, Apple is prioritizing immediate utility over the full generative experience. This move effectively brings Apple’s AI capabilities to a massive new market, albeit with localized constraints that distinguish it from the global release.
The Verge AI
© Matt WolfeModels & Labsmodels
Google Releases Gemini 4 Carbon for Cost-Efficient Inference
Google launched Gemini 4 Carbon, a new model variant aimed at providing high performance at a lower cost for inference tasks.
Matt Wolfe