Glossary
ASIC
An application-specific integrated circuit, a chip designed for one kind of task, such as running AI models.
An ASIC is a chip built for a particular job rather than for general computing. In AI, ASICs are designed to run neural-network math efficiently. Google's TPUs are one example; other large technology companies and startups design their own.
Companies pursue custom chips to reduce costs, lower power use, and depend less on a single GPU supplier. Designing them takes years, and most are made by the same small number of chip factories as GPUs.
Announcements about custom chips often describe plans and targets. Performance claims are the company's own until independent tests are available.