Microsoft Readies Next-Gen AI Chip, Targets 1 Million Units

Microsoft is planning to unveil its next-generation AI chip, the Maia 300, as early as next month. The company has been working on scaling up its in-house chip efforts and reducing its reliance on Nvidia's costly processors.

The Maia 300 chip was first introduced by Microsoft in November 2023, but it has struggled to compete with rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon. Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June.

Microsoft has been in talks with TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for over 300,000 units of the chip, which is expected to be delivered in 2027. The company aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, but component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans.

Andrew Wall, general manager for Microsoft's Azure Maia, said that the company continues to invest in custom silicon as part of its long-term AI infrastructure strategy. While he did not confirm the production figures reported by The Information, he stated that they do not reflect the scale of their program.