Apple is reportedly developing chips to run artificial intelligence software in data centers

Apple has been developing chips to run artificial intelligence software in data centers, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. 

Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), which has been in the works for several years, has no clear timeline, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The iPhone maker has been working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on the chip's design and production, though it remains uncertain whether the efforts have yielded any positive results, the report said. 

WSJ said Apple's server chip will likely be focused on AI inference, rather than on training AI models — an area which experts have said will continue to be dominated by American chip giant Nvidia.

In AI, inference is the process that trained machine learning models use to draw conclusions from brand-new data. Other large tech companies, such as Google, have invested in the development of their own AI inference server chips as part of efforts to untether themselves from chip designers.

Experts have pointed out that Apple was behind in the AI race while rivals such as Microsoft have invested billions into AI technology and infrastructure.

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