OpenAI unveils Jalapeño inference ASIC designed with AI in the loop

At Hot Chips 2026, OpenAI presented Jalapeño, an inference ASIC built with AI in the design loop. The company reported 56% block-level gains on a BF16 multiply and a 10% smaller matrix-unit area versus a human baseline, over a roughly nine-month path.

• AI delivered 56% gains on a BF16 multiply over the human baseline
• Matrix-unit area shrank by 10%
• The design path took roughly nine months