Why OpenAI’s Jalapeño Might Sicken Nvidia

Exactly who at OpenAI decided to name the company’s first internally designed chip Jalapeño? That might have seemed like a good idea a few months ago—perhaps OpenAI imagined that name would serve as a subtle indicator that the chip is a hot property. But it’s not ideal right now, when the Food and Drug Administration is warning that products containing jalapeños shouldn’t be eaten, served or sold thanks to a salmonella outbreak tied to the peppers. 

OpenAI must be hoping that’s not an omen, and so far it doesn’t seem to be. The AI firm on Tuesday unveiled the first test results for Jalapeño, claiming the chip showed “a significant performance advance: Jalapeño can serve more AI work per unit of power while also returning responses more quickly.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted that “we made a chip and it is fast.” AI research firm SemiAnalysis put out a review claiming that Jalapeño is “better than Nvidia Blackwell.” Ouch.