Apple pauses plan to enter cloud market, halts Project ACDC
What's the story
Apple has put its plans to enter the public cloud market on hold, according to The Information. The company was said to be working on Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Centers), a project aimed at providing cloud services powered by its efficient M-series chips. The initiative was seen as a potential competitor to established players like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Project details
Project ACDC aimed to provide access to Apple's M-series chips
Project ACDC was conceived as a way to give developers direct access to Apple's proprietary M-series chips. The idea was to provide a more cost-effective and efficient alternative to existing cloud platforms, which usually depend on Intel processors or GPU-heavy servers. Apple's M-series chips are known for their computing efficiency and artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing capabilities, making them an ideal candidate for a new cloud service.
Chip utilization
Apple's use of M-series chips in data centers
Apple has already been using its M-series chips beyond consumer devices like Macs and iPads. The company started using these chips in data centers with the launch of Private Cloud Compute (PCC), a system designed to process complex AI queries when on-device processing isn't enough. Major Apple services like Siri, Photos, and Music have also started using M-series chips for improved performance, especially in search functions.
Project vision
How AC/DC was supposed to work
The ACDC project was envisioned as an Apple-centric initiative, with plans to offer the service to developers through its existing Developer Relations team. This would allow developers to build iOS and macOS apps directly on Apple's silicon, reducing their dependence on costly third-party GPUs. However, the future of Project ACDC remains uncertain after Michael Abbott, the executive who led the initiative, left Apple in 2023.