OpenAI and Broadcom unveiled Jalapeño on 24 June 2026, the company's first custom-built inference chip, designed from a blank sheet in nine months and pitched by Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan as about half the cost of running AI on standard GPUs. Every headline since has reached for the obvious story: a strike at Nvidia. That story is true and partial. Jalapeño is two announcements stacked on top of each other. The first is a piece of silicon. The second, the one that carries more weight, is OpenAI's move to own the most expensive line on its books — the cost of answering you, each time you press enter.

OpenAI unveiled Jalapeño, its first AI chip, built with Broadcom for inference, as it moves to cut its heavy reliance on Nvidia.

Eight months after announcing a custom chip deal, OpenAI and Broadcom are revealing their first joint project: Jalapeño.