Apple weighs server comeback with NVIDIA networking

Apple is reportedly exploring a return to the server market with an AI-focused rack system built around future M-series chips and NVIDIA networking technology. The project could use NVIDIA’s NVLink Fusion portfolio and IP, including NVLink for socket-to-socket communication and NVLink-C2C for die-to-die interconnection.

The design under consideration would interconnect two or four Apple M8 Ultra chips and is currently planned for launch in 2029. Such a product would be Apple’s first server offering since Xserve, which debuted in 2002 and was discontinued in 2011. Apple would focus on the system-on-chip while relying on NVIDIA NVLink Fusion for interconnect decisions.

The potential rack system would target enterprises and governments that may already run local Mac clusters. Demand from AI developers has helped lift interest in Mac mini and Mac Studio systems, and some enterprises are building custom racks of multiple Mac Studios for local AI inferencing.