Apple is reportedly developing chips to run AI software in data centers

Apple has developed chips to run artificial intelligence software in data centers, based on the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) project, which has been within the works for several years, doesn’t have a transparent timeline, WSJ reported, citing people conversant in the matter.

The iPhone maker worked with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on the design and production of the chip, nevertheless it stays uncertain whether the efforts yielded positive results, the report said.

WSJ said Apple's server chip will likely deal with AI inference slightly than training AI models – an area experts say will proceed to be dominated by American chip giant Nvidia.

In AI, inference is the method that trained machine learning models use to attract conclusions from brand recent data. Other big tech firms like Google have invested in developing their very own AI inference server chips to interrupt away from chip designers.

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Experts have identified that Apple has lagged behind in AI competition while rivals like Microsoft have invested billions in AI technology and infrastructure.

CEO Tim Cook said in February that the corporate was investing “significantly” within the technology and would make an AI-related announcement later this 12 months. Analysts expect the corporate to make the announcement at its global developer conference scheduled for June.

In Apple's latest quarterly report Results call On Thursday, Cook told investors that the corporate continues to speculate in AI. “We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI and believe we have advantages that will set us apart in this new era,” he said.

Apple's fiscal second-quarter earnings beat expectations, although overall revenue fell 4% as a result of declining iPhone sales. The company also announced a $110 billion share buyback on Thursday, the biggest in its history, causing its stock price to rise.

Read the complete report within the Wall Street Journal.

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