Nvidia has dominated the AI chip market for years, but the era of total dependence may be coming to an end.
OpenAI has unveiled its latest strategy to shake things up: Jalapeño, a custom inference chip developed in partnership with Broadcom. Announced in mid-2026, this move places OpenAI alongside Google, Apple, and SpaceX in a growing cohort of tech giants building their own silicon to reduce single-supplier risk.
The goal isn’t a clean break from Nvidia but a strategic hedge. Custom silicon gives companies more control, hardware tailored to specific workloads, and performance gains reminiscent of what Apple unlocked when it ditched Intel.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane delve into what this custom chip trend means for the industry—along with a few notable deals from the week.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- Groq’s $650M raise: How the AI chipmaker is staging a comeback after Nvidia acquired its top talent in a $20B deal that wasn’t quite an acqui-hire.
- AI agents getting loopy: Why Claude Code creator Boris Cherny believes these loops are “just as important and as big a step” as the leap from source code to agents.
- Public markets warming to humanoid robots: Agility Robotics plans to go public via a SPAC in a $2.5B deal—signaling investor interest in the robot workforce.
- A24 takes investment from Google DeepMind: A $75M bet to develop a new AI toolkit for filmmakers, blending Hollywood storytelling with cutting-edge AI.
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via TechCrunch AI