Broadcom Projects 1 Million AI Chip Sales Using New 3D Stacking Technology

California-based chip designer Broadcom forecasts selling at least one million advanced AI chips by 2027 using innovative 3D stacking technology. The company's new approach layers chips on top of each other to boost processing speed and efficiency for artificial intelligence applications.

California-based artificial intelligence chip designer Broadcom has announced ambitious projections to sell a minimum of one million advanced processors by 2027 using breakthrough 3D stacking technology, a company executive revealed to Reuters this week.

This sales forecast represents a significant new revenue opportunity for Broadcom that industry analysts estimate could generate billions in income over the coming years.

According to Harish Bharadwaj, the company’s vice president of product marketing, the projected one million chip sales will utilize Broadcom’s innovative method of layering two processors vertically. This stacking technique creates tighter connections between silicon components, dramatically increasing data transfer speeds between chips.

Broadcom has spent five years perfecting this technology, with Japanese tech giant Fujitsu becoming the first client to create engineering prototypes for testing purposes. Fujitsu plans to begin manufacturing these three-dimensional chips within the current year.

The million-unit projection encompasses multiple chip designs beyond the initial Fujitsu collaboration.

Bharadwaj explained that the stacking method enables customers to create processors with enhanced computing power while consuming less electricity – crucial advantages for handling the intensive computational demands of AI applications.

“Now, pretty much all of our customers are adopting this technology,” he said.

Rather than designing complete AI processors independently, Broadcom typically partners with major technology companies including Google for its tensor processing units and ChatGPT creator OpenAI for custom-built processors. Broadcom’s engineering teams help transform initial concepts into manufacturable chip layouts that facilities like TSMC can produce.

The company’s processor division has experienced substantial growth through these custom partnerships, particularly with Google. Broadcom anticipates its AI chip revenues will double annually to reach $8.2 billion during its first fiscal quarter.

This expansion has positioned Broadcom as a major rival to industry leaders Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices in the race to develop competitive silicon solutions.

Fujitsu is implementing the new stacking technology for data center applications. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is producing the chip using its advanced 2-nanometer manufacturing process combined with a 5-nanometer component.

The Broadcom technology allows companies flexibility in choosing which TSMC manufacturing processes to combine, with TSMC joining the upper and lower chips during production.

Broadcom has multiple additional designs under development and plans to deliver two more stacking-based products during the second half of this year, with three more prototypes scheduled for 2027 testing.

The company invested approximately five years establishing the foundation for stacked chip technology and evaluating various configurations before achieving a commercially viable product. Engineering teams are currently developing chips featuring up to eight dual-chip stacks.