Apple to Partner with TSMC on Secret AI Chip "Baltra"

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Apple is reportedly secretly building its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip, internally known as Baltra. It is believed that to realise this chip, Apple will partner with semiconductor company TSMC. According to Gizmochina, on Saturday (11/4) local time, the “Baltra” chip is expected to support the company’s internal cloud infrastructure, focusing on secure data processing and AI workloads on the server side. If true, this marks a major shift as Apple expands beyond consumer hardware into large-scale AI computing. The Baltra chip is likely to be produced by TSMC using the second-generation 3nm process (N3E). Apple is also believed to be making a significant investment in TSMC’s advanced SoIC (System on Integrated Chips) packaging, which enables vertical stacking of multiple chip components for better speed and power efficiency. Baltra is also said to use a chiplet-based architecture, allowing various specialised chips to work together in a single package. This design improves scalability and enables Apple to optimise AI workloads more effectively. Apple is also collaborating with partners in interconnection technology while gradually seeking to bring more design capabilities in-house. To support its AI development efforts, Apple has reportedly ordered significant production capacity from TSMC for the coming years. Most of this capacity is estimated to be allocated to AI server chips like Baltra, indicating a serious long-term investment. Overall, this move highlights Apple’s plans to control its entire AI strategy, particularly in hardware, from silicon and packaging to cloud infrastructure, while reducing dependence on external chip providers.