Apple plans to use M2 Ultra chips in the cloud for AI

Apple plans to start its foray into generative AI by offloading complex queries to M2 Ultra chips running in data centers before moving to its more advanced M4 chips.

bloomberg The report says Apple plans to put its M2 Ultra on a cloud server to run more complex AI queries, while simpler tasks are processed on devices. wall street journal It was previously reported that Apple wanted to create custom chips to bring into data centers to ensure security and privacy in a project called Project ACDC, or Apple Chips in the Data Center, according to the publication. But the company now believes that its existing processors already have adequate security and privacy components.

The chips will be deployed in Apple's data centers and eventually on servers operated by third parties. Apple runs its own servers across the United States and is working on a new center in Waukee, Iowa, which it first announced in 2017.

While Apple has not moved as quickly on generative AI as competitors like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, the company is researching the technology. In December, Apple's machine learning research team released MLX, a machine learning framework that can run AI models efficiently on Apple silicon. The company is also releasing other research around AI models that hint at what AI might look like on its devices and how existing products like Siri might get an upgrade.

Apple put a big emphasis on AI performance in the announcement of the new M4 chip, saying that its new Neural Engine is “an extremely powerful chip for AI.”