Microsoft's next-gen AI chip production delayed to 2026, The Information reports
June 27 (Reuters) - Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab next-generation Maia AI chip is facing a delay of at least six months, pushing its mass production to 2026 from 2025, The Information reported on Friday, citing three people involved in the effort.
When the chip, code-named Braga, goes into production, it is expected to fall well short of the performance of Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab Blackwell chip that was released late last year, the report said.
Microsoft had hoped to use the Braga chip in its data centers this year, the report said, adding that unanticipated changes to its design, staffing constraints and high turnover were contributing to the delay.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Like its Big Tech peers, Microsoft has focused heavily on developing custom processors for artificial intelligence operations and general purpose applications, a move that would help reduce the tech giant's reliance on pricey Nvidia chips.
Cloud rivals Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google have both raced to develop chips in-house, customized for their specific needs with the goal of improving performance and reducing costs.
Microsoft had introduced the Maia chip in November 2023, but has lagged its peers in ramping it up to scale.
Google, meanwhile, has seen success with its custom AI chips - called Tensor Processing Units - and in April unveiled its seventh-generation AI chip designed to speed the performance of AI applications.
Amazon in December also unveiled its next-generation AI chip Trainium3 that is set to be released late this year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
OpenAI turns to Google's AI chips to power its products, The Information reports
June 27 (Reuters) - OpenAI has recently begun renting Google's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab artificial intelligence chips to power ChatGPT and other products, The Information reported on Friday, citing a person involved in the arrangement. The move, which marks the first time OpenAI has used non-Nvidia chips in a meaningful way, shows the Sam Altman-led company's shift away from relying on backer Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab data centers, potentially boosting Google's tensor processing units (TPUs) as a cheaper alternative to Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab graphics processing units (GPUs), the report said. As one of the largest purchasers of Nvidia's GPUs, OpenAI uses AI chips to train models and also for inference computing, a process in which an AI model uses its trained knowledge to make predictions or decisions based on new information. OpenAI hopes the TPUs, which it rents through Google Cloud, will help lower the cost of inference, according to the report. However, Google, an OpenAI competitor in the AI race, is not renting its most powerful TPUs to its rival, The Information said, citing a Google Cloud employee. Both OpenAI and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. OpenAI planned to add Google Cloud service to meet its growing needs for computing capacity, Reuters had exclusively reported earlier this month, marking a surprising collaboration between two prominent competitors in the AI sector. For Google, the deal comes as it is expanding external availability of its in-house TPUs, which were historically reserved for internal use. That helped Google win customers including Big Tech player Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab as well as startups like Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence, two OpenAI competitors launched by former OpenAI leaders.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
American Airlines says technology issue affecting some systems
June 27 (Reuters) - American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab said on Friday a technology issue was affecting connectivity for some systems and that it was working with its partners to fully resolve the problem.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Mexico's Terrafina to remove CIBanco as trustee after US sanctions
MEXICO CITY, June 27 (Reuters) - Mexican real estate trust Terrafina said on Friday it planned to remove bank CIBanco as its trustee due to U.S. money laundering accusations, which resulted in Mexico's banking regulator stepping in to manage it. CIBanco has rejected the sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department, which prohibit certain transactions with the firm. President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday she had not received any evidence of money laundering from the U.S., which also sanctioned two other financial operators, Vector Casa de Bolsa and Intercam Banco.
