AI projects increasingly sound like your grocery list

In a fascinating trend, leading AI companies are adopting food-inspired codenames for their upcoming projects, creating a playful juxtaposition with their groundbreaking technology. OpenAI, Meta, and Google have embraced this quirky naming convention, which often leaves observers chuckling at the creativity involved. OpenAI recently unveiled its first advanced chip, named "Jalapeño," developed in collaboration with Broadcom. The chip signifies a pivotal step in OpenAI's journey to enhance its AI capabilities. "Chips are foundational to the AI economy," the company stated, emphasizing that this innovation will bolster their infrastructure and accessibility to AI technologies. As part of their ongoing projects, OpenAI has also codenamed a new large language model (LLM) "Garlic," with another model in the works referred to as "Shallotpeat". These playful names reflect a lighthearted approach amidst the serious advancements in AI. Meanwhile, Google has taken the food-themed naming a step further with its AI image generator, dubbed "Nano Banana Pro," which was released on November 20, 2025. This model had previously been known internally as "nano-banana," showcasing the company’s willingness to embrace whimsical naming conventions. Meta, on the other hand, chose to call its future AI model "Avocado" before transitioning to the more formal title "Muse Spark" for its public release. This shift signifies the company's strategic pivot in AI development, following a hefty $14 billion investment in enhancing its AI division. Other companies have also joined in on the fun; for instance, Elon Musk's xAI codenamed an early version of Grok-3 as "Chocolate." Contrastingly, Mistral AI opted for a more fierce name with its testing model labeled "Jaguar." Anthropic has taken a literary angle, naming its models after different forms of writing, such as "Opus," "Sonnet," and "Haiku," recently adding "Mythos" and "Fable" to their lineup. This trend of using food and playful names in AI development not only adds a layer of whimsy to the tech landscape but also highlights the innovative spirit that drives these companies forward.