# OpenAI deploys Jalapeño ASICs with AMD EPYC Turin CPUs, not Nvidia Vera

Digest AI · Hardware & Compute · published 2026-10-02T12:40:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/openai-deploys-jalapeno-asics-with-amd-epyc-turin-cpus-not-nvidia-vera

## Summary

OpenAI is deploying its new Jalapeño ASIC chips internally alongside AMD EPYC Turin host CPUs, each equipped with 1.5TB of memory. Richard Ho, OpenAI's VP and Head of Hardware, told Tom's Hardware Premium the choice was pragmatic, citing Nvidia's Vera CPU as "a little bit behind… on that maturity level" for a rack-scale deployment. Ho said OpenAI wanted to de-risk the Jalapeño program and move fast, noting that partners had experience with the Turin platform.

Nvidia has claimed Vera offers a 1.8x improvement over AMD's EPYC 9755, though that figure comes from an overall benchmark suite where Vera was only 3% ahead. Arm's AGI CPU, also positioned for agentic workloads, claims over twice the performance of modern x86 platforms based on internal estimates. OpenAI is listed as both an Arm deployment partner for AGI and a customer exploring Vera, but Ho indicated the socketed design of Turin and the deeper x86 software foundation factored into the decision. OpenAI may pair Jalapeño with different hosts in the future.

## Key points

- OpenAI pairs Jalapeño ASICs with AMD EPYC Turin hosts with 1.5TB memory each
- Richard Ho calls Nvidia Vera "a little bit behind… on that maturity level"
- OpenAI is an Arm AGI partner and Vera explorer but chose Turin to de-risk deployment

## Why it matters

The decision shows frontier labs prioritizing platform maturity and supply-chain pragmatism over peak benchmark claims when deploying custom silicon at rack scale.

## Sources

1. [OpenAI’s Jalapeño ASICs are deployed alongside AMD EPYC ‘Turin’ CPUs as hosts, not Nvidia's Vera](https://tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/openais-jalapeno-asics-are-deployed-alongside-amd-epyc-turin-cpus-as-hosts-hardware-vp-says-nvidias-vera-standalone-is-a-little-bit-behind-on-that-maturity-level) (Tom's Hardware, 2026-10-02)

Part of the developing story: [AMD Nvidia AI Hardware Rivalry Escalates](https://digestai.news/thread/amd-says-96-core-venice-cpu-is-about-20-faster-than-nvidia-vera-in-spec-cpu-2026) (2 stories)

## Cite

Digest AI, "OpenAI deploys Jalapeño ASICs with AMD EPYC Turin CPUs, not Nvidia Vera", 2 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/openai-deploys-jalapeno-asics-with-amd-epyc-turin-cpus-not-nvidia-vera

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