Meta has unveiled a new chip specifically designed to handle its AI workloads.
The company announced the chip on 11 April via a blog post and stated it was part of a wider effort to design the company’s future infrastructure with AI in mind.
Go deeper with GlobalData
It stated that the chip would help the performance of recommended ads on Meta’s social media platforms Instagram and Facebook.
The new chip has been deployed in the company’s data centres and has already increased computing efficiency according to the blog post, leaving Meta able to focus on AI.
Meta stated that it was currently working on other hardware projects related to generative AI and that today’s (11 April) launch was the beginning of its journey.
Meta’s chip launch has coincided with similar launches from Intel and Google as tech companies seek to become more self-sufficient in AI hardware and infrastructure.
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By GlobalDataBoth Google and Intel’s chip launches on 10 April were widely reported to be taking aim at Nvidia’s leadership in AI chip technology.
Beatriz Valle, senior analyst at research and analysis company GlobalData, commented that chips were a large part of the massive AI investment undertaken by Big Tech companies wanting to deploy generative AI.
An investment, she stated, that Nvidia had capitalised on making it one of the most valuable companies in the AI process.
“As an AI pioneer, Meta, as well as many other big tech companies, is developing its own microprocessors as a hedge against complete reliance on Nvidia,” Valle said.
“Microprocessor independence has become front of mind for every company advancing AI technology and this move by Meta is just another step in that direction. Otherwise, the cost is too burdensome even for companies with the financial prowess of the likes of Meta, Microsoft, and others.”
Companies seeking independence from Nvidia have led GlobalData to forecast an evolution of the AI arms race to an AI chip race.
A survey conducted by GlobalData in 2024 found that 27% of businesses already reported a high adoption rate of AI into their workloads.
As AI deployment speeds up, AI infrastructure and chip technology will become a tension point for Big Tech.
