Apple Working on AI Chips for Data Centers

(FILES) This photo taken on October 30, 2023 shows people visiting an Apple store in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
(FILES) This photo taken on October 30, 2023 shows people visiting an Apple store in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
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Apple Working on AI Chips for Data Centers

(FILES) This photo taken on October 30, 2023 shows people visiting an Apple store in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
(FILES) This photo taken on October 30, 2023 shows people visiting an Apple store in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

Apple is developing its own chip to run artificial intelligence software in data centers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The project, internally codenamed as Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), aims to leverage Apple's chip design expertise for its server infrastructure, the report said.
Apple, whose shares were 1% higher before the bell on Tuesday, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The company has emerged as a major chip designer in recent years, thanks to the success of its semiconductors that are used in the iPhone, iPads and Mac laptops.
Apple's server chip will likely be focused on running AI models, also known as inference, rather than in training AI models, where Nvidia is dominant, the WSJ report said.
Amid growing pressure due to a slow roll out of AI services, CEO Tim Cook had last week signaled that Apple plans to unveil a raft of features powered by the technology in the coming months.
"We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we're making significant investments," Cook told Reuters last week.
The company plans to hold a virtual event on Tuesday where it is expected to showcase new iPad models, some of which could come with a new chip aimed at speeding up AI tasks carried out on the devices.
Project ACDC has been in the works for several years and it is uncertain when the new chip will be unveiled, if ever, the WSJ report said.
Apple has been closely working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to design and initiate production of such chips and that it remains uncertain whether both companies have yielded a definitive result, the report said.



Amazon Doubles Down on AI Startup Anthropic with $4 bln Investment

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Amazon Doubles Down on AI Startup Anthropic with $4 bln Investment

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said on Friday it has raised an additional $4 billion investment from longtime backer Amazon.com, bringing the e-commerce giant's total investment to $8 billion, underscoring Big Tech's growing genAI investments.

Amazon will maintain its position as a minority investor, the company said. Its AWS unit will also be Anthropic's official cloud provider.

Anthropic also said it is working with AWS' Annapurna Labs on the development of future generations of Amazon's Trainium chips and plans to train its foundational models on the hardware, Reuters reported.

Britain's competition regulator had said in September Amazon's partnership with Anthropic will not be referred for a deeper probe as it did not fall under its jurisdiction.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, said last year it had also secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time.