Apple is reportedly working on in-house AI server chips codenamed 'Baltra.' According to a report from The Information (via Reuters), the chip is being designed in partnership with Broadcom. It is expected to be ready for production in 2026.
Apple is leaning on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for their N3P manufacturing process, a 3nm process that offers higher transistor density and reduced power consumption.
Last year, Apple announced a multibillion-dollar deal with Broadcom for 5G radios and wireless connectivity components. Earlier in the year, The Wall Street Journal (via Bloomberg) reported that Apple was busy developing chips to power data centers that run AI tools.
Bloomberg says Apple's plan for in-house chips was floated three years ago. The company was forced to accelerate timelines due to the big AI boom. Relatively simple tasks like notification summaries or query responses can be handled by on-device chips. But complicated tasks like summarizing articles and drafting emails require more firepower. Apple's move is to offload these tasks to their servers.