Meta to deploy self-designed chip in data centres this year
Facebook owner Meta Platforms is preparing to roll out a new version of its own custom chip, which is aimed at supporting the firm's AI activities.
The world’s biggest social media company is trying, like other tech giants, to reduce its dependence on companies like Nvidia by designing its own chips. Last year, it unveiled a second-generation chip created from its own in-house silicon line.
According to an internal company document seen by Reuters, it is now getting ready to deploy the chip design into its data centres. The overall aim is to boost computing capacity and power the power-hungry generative AI products it is building into Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The report quoted a Meta spokesman, who confirmed the plan to put the updated chip into production in 2024 along with hundreds of thousands of off-the-shelf graphics processing units (GPUs).
“We see our internally developed accelerators to be highly complementary to commercially available GPUs in delivering the optimal mix of performance and efficiency on Meta-specific workloads,” the spokesman said in a statement.
If successful, this second-gen chip will be a big turnaround for Meta, which abandoned its first product line in 2022 and was forced to buy billions of dollars worth of Nvidia’s GPUs as a result.
