SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2 (GeokHub) — OpenAI is reportedly seeking alternatives to some of Nvidia’s latest artificial intelligence chips, citing performance concerns for specific inference tasks, a move that could reshape the dynamic between two major players in the AI industry.
While Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) remain dominant for training large AI models, OpenAI has focused on inference — the stage when AI models respond to user queries. Sources indicate that certain Nvidia chips are not delivering the speed required for OpenAI’s coding-focused products, such as Codex, prompting the company to explore new hardware options.
Since last year, OpenAI has been in talks with chipmakers including AMD, Cerebras, and Groq to acquire GPUs optimized for inference tasks. Inference workloads often require large amounts of on-chip memory to reduce data-fetch times, an area where conventional Nvidia and AMD GPUs, which rely on external memory, can fall short.
The company’s CEO, Sam Altman, has emphasized that for applications like coding assistance, speed is critical, whereas general-purpose chatbot responses are less time-sensitive.
The shift comes amid ongoing investment discussions between OpenAI and Nvidia. In September, Nvidia announced a plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a deal granting the chipmaker a stake in the AI firm. Negotiations have since extended for months, with OpenAI adjusting its hardware needs as its product roadmap evolves.
Nvidia has also strengthened its position in the inference market by licensing technology from Groq, a move that has complicated OpenAI’s potential collaborations with the startup. Despite this, Nvidia maintains that its GPUs remain the leading choice for inference workloads, citing superior performance and cost-efficiency at scale.
Analysts say OpenAI’s pursuit of alternative chips underscores a growing front in the AI race: inference performance. As AI applications expand beyond research and training into real-time customer interactions, the demand for specialized hardware is reshaping partnerships, investment strategies, and competitive positioning in the sector.
