Microsoft is building its own server tech networking hardware will lessen reliance on Nvidia and possibly supercharge AI speeds

Date:
Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:30:34 +0000

Description:
Microsoft wants to develop more AI components and hardware in-house, spelling potential disaster for current providers.

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In a bold move to enhance the performance of its Maia AI server chip, Microsoft is reportedly developing its own network cards.

According to a report by The Information , the project is reportedly being headed up by Pradeep Sindhu, CVP Silicon at Microsoft and CEO of Fungible, a server chip startup that Microsoft acquired in 2023.

If true, Microsoft, one of the worlds biggest investors in artificial intelligence, could significantly reduce its reliance on Nvidia, which currently provides the industry with many crucial components. Microsoft wants to use fewer Nvidia parts

The rumored network card, similar to Nvidias ConnectX-7 card, is envisioned
to optimize the performance of Microsofts Maia AI server chip. If successful, it could reduce the time required for OpenAI another company that has benefited from major Microsoft investments to train models on Microsoft servers, helping to improve cost efficiency.

The report speculates that the development could take more than a year.

Besides the positive impacts on Microsoft and company-backed artificial intelligence, more in-house components will help the Redmond giant to reduce its reliance on other companies, like Nvidia.

Microsofts Maia chip, introduced in November, is designed to power large language models (LLMs) and support AI computing.

Moreover, the companys significant investments in OpenAI, the startup behind the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot, have further solidified its position in the competitive market for artificial intelligence.

Though both companies now sit below the all-important threshold (at the time of writing), Microsoft became the second company in the world to hit a market valuation of $3 trillion, following in Apples footsteps.

Nvidias shares have also gone up a staggering amount since artificial intelligence hit the ground running, and its powerful position saw it reach
an all-time high position as the third-most valuable company in the US.

Though Microsofts developments do not look imminent, such a drastic move
could severely impact Nvidias profits and share prices. More from TechRadar Pro These are the best AI tools and best AI writers Check out our roundup of the best processors for your PC Microsoft investing billions in Spain for AI, cloud in latest EU spending spree



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-is-building-its-own-server-tech-networ king-hardware-will-lessen-reliance-on-nvidia-and-possibly-supercharge-ai-speed s


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