Apple working on own AI data centre chips, reports claim 

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Apple is seemingly playing catch up in Big Tech’s AI race, with Microsoft having already invested billions I the technology and related infrastructure 

Tech giant Apple has been making investments in its own chips designed for artificial intelligence (AI) processing in data centres, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. 

The move puts it in direct competition with other tech giants like Google and Amazon, which are already investing heavily in AI chips. 

Internally referred to as “Project ACDC”, Apple’s initiative aims to create AI chips tailored for data centres. These chips would power AI workloads, enhancing performance and efficiency.  

According to the report, by designing its own chips in partnership with its long term partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Apple can optimise them for its own software ecosystem.  

Although the report claims that the ACDC project has been ongoing for several years, specific timelines for product releases have not been announced. 

“We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we’re making significant investments,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook speaking to Reuters. 

“We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI and we believe we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era, including Apple’s unique combination of seamless hardware, software and services integration, groundbreaking Apple silicon with our industry leading neural engines, and our unwavering focus on privacy, which underpins everything we create,” confirmed Cook in the Q2 earnings call last week. 

The company has already begun discussions with both Google and OpenAI regarding the integration of advanced AI features into iOS 18. Here, Apple could license OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini to enhance AI capabilities in the iOS ecosystem. It is not clear if Apple have made a decision on its partner, although the company is expected to announce its AI progress and future strategy at its Worldwide development conference in June. 

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