OpenAI unveils first custom AI inference chip, Jalapeño, with Broadcom — and its development was sped-up with OpenAI's own models

OpenAI and Broadcom this morning unveiled their first custom AI accelerator chip named "Jalapeño," positioning it is as a purpose-built processor for large language model (LLM) inference, rather than the more general GPUs offered by the likes of Nvidia or AMD. According to its creators, Jalapeño is designed to support workloads behind ChatGPT, Codex, the API and future agentic products, though notably, Broadcom's news release positions it as a product that could be available to external AI firms as well — "built from the ground up for current and future LLMs across the industry." [Emphasis mine.]Jalapeño's engineering timeline set a blistering pace for the semiconductor industry, moving from early schematics to fabrication readiness within a brief nine-month window, when new processor deve…