Can Microsoft break free from its dependence on NVIDIA after launching two self-developed custom chips?
hahawer
发表于 2023-11-16 16:35:33
3182
0
0
Traditional chip giants are betting on AI applications, and large software and hardware technology companies have also taken the final step of expansion.
On the early morning of November 16th, Microsoft launched two self-developed chips - Maia 100 and Azure Cobalt 100- at its annual developer conference Microsoft Ignite, providing impetus for training and reasoning of large language models. This officially fills the only ecological gap between Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, as the latter two giants already have their own customized chips.
Maia 100 is Microsoft's first artificial intelligence chip, mainly designed for training large language models. It belongs to the ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) chip and is suitable for x86 hosts. It is manufactured based on TSMC's 5nm node and can seamlessly integrate with Microsoft's Azure software stack. This chip will be launched in Azure data centers starting early next year, with the aim of reducing Microsoft's dependence on Nvidia GPUs.
Microsoft's second chip, Azure Cobalt 100, is a 128 core cloud native chip based on the Arm architecture. It is designed for general-purpose computing tasks and can compete with Intel processors and Amazon Cloud's Graviton series chips. This chip can also be compatible with the Azure ecosystem, and its greater use is to run universal computing workloads on Microsoft Cloud, reducing costs.
In fact, Microsoft speculates that there are signs of chip making. In 2010, Microsoft hoped to develop its own AI hardware. According to The Information, Microsoft has been developing a new AI chipset codenamed "Athena" since at least 2019, with the aim of providing an alternative to Nvidia chips for training and reasoning in large language models such as ChatGPT. According to Toms Hardware, Athena uses TSMC's 5nm process, specifically designed for training large language models.
However, since then, Microsoft has denied some details of these reports, such as AMD's involvement in them, and will no longer disclose any other information about Athena.
Now it seems that Microsoft's Maia 100 and Azure Cobalt 100 chips, both of which use TSMC's 5nm process, are reminiscent of the relationship between the new product and Athena.
Microsoft also pointed out that they do not intend to sell these high-end custom chips, but will use them for their subscription software products as part of Azure cloud computing services. According to Microsoft, they are already trying to use Cobalt chips for the team collaboration platform Teams.
Against the backdrop of a shortage of chips and a surge in demand for AI applications, Microsoft's rapid promotion of customized chip plans is widely interpreted by the outside world as the best choice for cloud computing giants with resources.
A person familiar with the matter once revealed that during the development of Athena, Microsoft had already ordered up to a few hundred thousand GPUs from Invidia to meet the needs of OpenAI. In September, as the ChatGPT craze subsided, there were constant market news that Microsoft began to reduce the order volume of NVIDIA H100 graphics cards. At Microsoft's October financial report conference call, the issue of "cost reduction" was also repeatedly emphasized.
However, it is questionable whether Microsoft can break free from its dependence on NVIDIA with two high-end chips. In addition to further examination of the true level of customized chips, the other series of updates released by Microsoft at the meeting still include Nvidia's presence. For example, Microsoft announced that its Azure will provide Nvidia's new generative artificial intelligence modeler to customer enterprises, which means that the cooperation between the two will continue to expand, and also indicates that Microsoft does not want to completely undermine the tacit understanding with Nvidia.
CandyLake.com 系信息发布平台,仅提供信息存储空间服务。
声明:该文观点仅代表作者本人,本文不代表CandyLake.com立场,且不构成建议,请谨慎对待。
声明:该文观点仅代表作者本人,本文不代表CandyLake.com立场,且不构成建议,请谨慎对待。
猜你喜欢
- Redemption of over 4.9 billion yuan! Huang Renxun's 6 million share reduction plan has been completed ahead of schedule. Analysts boldly predict that Nvidia's long-term market value will soar to $10 trillion
- Nvidia's stock price surged by over 8%. Huang Renxun's words' save the US stock '?
- NVIDIA skyrockets by 8%! Huang Renxun reassures the market: The rush to buy AI chips continues, and everyone is counting on us
- NVIDIA with Flyna Finger! Institution: AI demand will continue to drive the purchase of semiconductor related equipment
- Nvidia expects to produce 450000 Blackwell AI GPUs in Q4
- マイクロソフトは今後3年間でメキシコに13億ドルを投資し、現地のAIインフラ整備を強化する
- 마이크로소프트는 앞으로 3년간 멕시코에 13억 달러를 투자해 현지 AI 인프라 건설을 강화할 것이다
- Global markets: The three major US stock indices collectively closed higher, while the Nasdaq rose more than 2% and Nvidia's stock price rose more than 8%
- AI demon stock "raises concerns about financial risks of AMD computers, deeply tied to NVIDIA
- SpaceX's' Dragon 'spacecraft travels to the International Space Station to bring back two stranded astronauts
-
9月が終わり、映画・テレビ業界が暗躍している。最近、愛奇芸の創始者でCEOのGONG宇氏は、映画・テレビ業界が長短の変化、AIの変化、中国映画・テレビドラマの海外進出の変化の3つの変化を経験していると発表した。 ...
- 寒郁轩良
- 前天 14:17
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
ネットワーク状況監視サイトDownDetectorによると、オーディオストリーミングプラットフォームSpotifyは日曜日に約3時間にわたる障害を経験した後、正常に回復し、ピーク時には米国の4万人以上のユーザーに影響を与 ...
- hecgdge4
- 前天 09:33
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
百済神州(688235.SH)はA株の有名な革新薬企業で、2017-2024年上半期、同社の各期の研究開発投資はA株の化学製薬会社(申万二級)の中で最も高く、研究開発費用は合計600億元を超えた。 しかし、百済神州にとって ...
- wylz8473
- 3 天前
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
10月1日、極クリプトン自動車が発表したデータによると、今年第3四半期に新車が累計14万2900台納入され、前年同期比81%増となった。このうち、9月に新車を納入したのは2万13万人で、前年同期比77%、前月比18%増だっ ...
- 内托体头
- 昨天 16:17
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏