(Boursier.com) — OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is reportedly considering designing its own artificial intelligence chips, according to Reuters, and has gone so far as to evaluate a potential acquisition target for this. Reuters cites people familiar with the plans. OpenAI, however, has not yet decided to move forward, according to recent internal discussions seen by Reuters. For at least the last year, the group has reportedly discussed various options to resolve the shortage of expensive AI chips that OpenAI relies on, according to Reuters’ sources familiar with the matter. Options considered include building a dedicated AI chip factory, working more closely with other chipmakers including Nvidia, and diversifying suppliers beyond Nvidia. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly made acquiring more AI chips a priority. He had already publicly complained about the shortage of units, in a market largely dominated by Nvidia.
The shortage of advanced processors powering OpenAI’s software and the very high costs associated with operating the hardware would explain the thinking of OpenAI, which since 2020 has been developing its generative AI technologies on a massive supercomputer built by Microsoft and using no less than 10,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). Reuters further notes that ChatGPT is very expensive to operate, with each request costing around 4 cents. If ChatGPT’s queries reach a tenth of Google’s search scale, it will require about $48.1 billion in GPUs upfront to stay operational, according to a Bernstein specialist cited by Reuters.
©2023 Boursier.com