Microsoft may quickly unveil its first, in-house processor tailor-made for synthetic intelligence duties, in accordance with The Impartial’s reporting earlier at the moment. The tech large goals to scale back prices and scale back reliance on Nvidia, the main AI chip provider.
The Impartial suggests Microsoft may launch its synthetic intelligence-focused chip at subsequent month’s builders’ convention.
A shift within the AI panorama
Microsoft’s processor will allegedly deal with information heart servers and enhancing AI options throughout the firm’s suite of productiveness purposes. Choose groups from each Microsoft and OpenAI, which has acquired important Microsoft funding, have reportedly been testing the chip.
OpenAI, to not be left behind within the AI chip race, can be purportedly exploring the potential for designing its personal AI chips. In line with Reuters reporting additionally revealed at the moment, there are whispers that OpenAI is exploring an acquisition to jumpstart its GPU growth.
Nonetheless, on the subject of the present panorama of firms constructing AI chips, none evaluate to the dominance of Nvidia. Since creating the world’s first Graphic Processing Unit in 1999, Nvidia has manufactured the vast majority of the world’s microchips. Reuters even pegged the corporate’s present manufacturing output of the high-end chips required for AI modeling at a whopping 80%.
Regardless of at the moment’s intensive reporting, there haven’t been any on-the-record feedback from Microsoft, OpenAI, or Nvidia. As of press time, ReadWrite has not acquired any response to its requests for remark.
The broader AI chip ecosystem
The AI chip market has witnessed a surge in exercise, with tech large Amazon’s Inferentia and Google creating (and shortly probably manufacturing) the Tensor Processing Unit. If Microsoft’s endeavors materialize, it would be a part of these tech giants within the reinvigorated AI chip enviornment, additional intensifying the competitors.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been outspoken in his concern over the scant provide of AI chips and the cost-impact it’s having on startups and people considering AI. In March, TrendForce launched estimates that coaching OpenAI’s GPT mannequin in 2020 required the facility of 20,000 Nvidia A100 GPUs. The market intelligence agency additionally projected a rise to 30,000 GPUs in an effort to assist ChatGPT’s commercialization.
Main monetary corporations have additionally expressed fear about chip provide. Final month, Switzerland’s largest monetary establishment, UBS, highlighted the potential dangers Microsoft faces as a result of GPU constraints. Analysts on the Swiss financial institution pointed to chip shortages as potential limitors to Microsoft’s 2024 AI income streams. UBS analysts provided a extra optimistic view yesterday, nevertheless, stating the financial institution now has “even greater confidence” that Microsoft will have the ability to fulfill its near-term capability wants.
The AI arms race, ignited by OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT a yr in the past, has led to a requirement for AI chips that’s outpacing provide. In response, Nvidia and its now major competitor, AMD, which not too long ago introduced its personal high-end AI chip, are each ramping up manufacturing.
Whereas Microsoft has dedicated to proceed buying Nvidia GPUs, the event of its personal processor may very well be an {industry} game-changer. But, as long as Mircosoft and OpenAI stay diplomatic with the main GPU producers, creating their very own in-house AI chip(s) may mitigate future provide dangers to their companies whereas additionally rising broader accessibility to AI chips.
