Microsoft is preparing to introduce its next-generation Maia 300 AI chip this fall, with a possible launch as early as September, according to a report by The Information citing people familiar with the plans.
The move comes as Microsoft works to expand its in-house AI chip capabilities and reduce its dependence on Nvidia’s costly processors. The company introduced its first Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has moved more slowly than rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling its custom silicon efforts.
Google began recognising revenue from direct sales of its custom Tensor Processing Units in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its own processors, including Trainium.
Microsoft has reportedly been in discussions with TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 Maia 300 chips for delivery in 2027. The company is also looking to increase production significantly and encourage major cloud customers, including Anthropic, to adopt the chip.
“Microsoft continues to invest in custom silicon as part of our long-term AI infrastructure strategy. While we don’t share production volumes, the figures reported don’t reflect the scale of our program,” said Andrew Wall, general manager for Microsoft’s Azure Maia.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips. However, component availability and ongoing capacity discussions with TSMC could limit those plans, according to the report.
The company unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January. The chip was built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology and features a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can improve performance for AI systems handling large volumes of user requests.
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