The AI party has been ongoing for quite some time now, attracting an increasing number of tech companies. Apple's tardy arrival has stirred impatience among investors, but perhaps the iPhone giant has matters well in hand. Let's delve into it.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple is in the process of developing its own chip dedicated to powering artificial intelligence applications within data centers, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
In recent years, Apple has solidified its position as a significant chip designer, owing to the success of its semiconductor offerings utilized in iPhones, iPads, and Mac laptops. The speculated server chip from Apple is expected to specialize in executing AI models, specifically in inference tasks, in contrast to Nvidia's dominance in training AI models.
Dubbed Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), the initiative has been underway for some time, although specifics regarding its timeline remain unclear. Collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Apple has been engaged in designing and potentially producing the chip, albeit with uncertain outcomes thus far.
Analysts have highlighted Apple's lag in the AI race compared to competitors like Microsoft, who have poured substantial investments into AI technology and infrastructure.
Speaking of Microsoft, in a bid to boost AI initiatives the company announced a five-year strategic partnership with… the Coca‑Cola Company. The partnership highlights Coca‑Cola’s ongoing technological evolution, leveraging the Microsoft Cloud as its globally preferred and strategic cloud and AI platform.
Within this collaboration, the companies will jointly explore new technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service to cultivate innovative generative AI applications across various business sectors. This encompasses assessing how Microsoft 365 Copilot could enhance workplace efficiency.
As part of the agreement, Coca-Cola has committed $1.1 billion to harness the capabilities of the Microsoft Cloud and its generative AI features.
Returning to Apple, CEO Tim Cook disclosed in February that the company is making substantial investments in AI and anticipates an AI-related announcement later this year. Analysts anticipate this announcement to occur during the Worldwide Developers Conference scheduled for June.
The revelation could significantly influence Apple stock price. Speaking of which, Apple recently released its second-quarter earnings report. Despite a 4% decline in overall revenue due to diminishing iPhone sales, earnings surpassed expectations. Furthermore, the company unveiled a record-breaking $110 billion share buyback, resulting in a surge in share prices.
