OpenAI unveils its first custom chip, built by Broadcom

On Wednesday, OpenAI unveiled its first custom-built inference processor, designed and manufactured in collaboration with Broadcom. Named Jalapeño, the new processor was designed specifically for the unique needs of OpenAI’s inference systems. OpenAI’s own AI models assisted in the development of the chip, the company said.

While the chip is still being tested, OpenAI says early results show significantly better performance-per-watt than current state-of-the-art alternatives.

The partnership was officially announced in October 2025, but OpenAI’s chip plans have long been rumored as a way to reduce the company’s dependence on Nvidia’s GPUs. Google and Amazon have both built custom chips to serve a similar purpose, often called “AI accelerators” — silicon designed specifically to speed up machine learning workloads.

Jalapeño is specifically designed for inference, the process of running pre-built AI models in response to user commands. In the announcement, OpenAI emphasized the chip’s low operating cost when running real-time coding models. It’s likely that more performance-intensive tasks like pre-training will still rely on Nvidia hardware, but even small reductions in inference costs could do a lot to improve the company’s bottom line.

OpenAI moved from initial design to manufacturing tape-out in nine months. The company said it operates across the full stack — chip architecture, kernels, memory systems, networking, scheduling, deployment systems, and product experience — so each layer can be optimized around making models faster, more reliable, and more affordable.