OpenAI is intensifying efforts to expand its artificial intelligence computing infrastructure, relying heavily on Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain. On September 30, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman conducted a discreet visit to Taiwan, holding separate meetings with TSMC and Foxconn. The discussions focused on collaboration in AI chip manufacturing and AI server infrastructure development.
The company's flagship project, Stargate, represents a major US initiative to build a network of AI data centers. Under this plan, OpenAI aims to construct five large data centers across the US. Three of these facilities are being developed together with Oracle, while the remaining two are in partnership with Japan's SoftBank. As Foxconn is Oracle's largest supplier of AI servers, Altman's engagement with the firm is seen as critical to securing production capacity to meet increasing hardware demands. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has also reportedly visited Foxconn, highlighting the supplier's central role in this multinational effort.
OpenAI's increasing server needs and plans for proprietary chip development
With the continuous expansion of new data center sites, OpenAI expects its demand for servers to climb rapidly. Although Foxconn remains the primary supplier in terms of shipment volume, the company has brought additional partners like Quanta on board to handle the growing hardware requirements beyond Foxconn's original scope.
In parallel with scaling server supply, OpenAI is advancing its own AI chip design to lessen dependency on Nvidia GPUs. According to reports, OpenAI formed an AI ASIC design team in 2024 and is collaborating with Broadcom to create chips using TSMC's advanced 3nm manufacturing process. These chips will feature sophisticated Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology combined with high-bandwidth memory (HBM), with mass production anticipated to begin in 2026.
Altman's visit likely covered updates on cooperation progress and offered an opportunity to deepen understanding of TSMC's cutting-edge process capabilities and CoWoS packaging capacity, both crucial for meeting OpenAI's ambitious infrastructure goals.
Article edited by Jack Wu
