Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip targets 300,000 units by 2027 to reduce Nvidia reliance

Microsoft is ordering 300,000+ Maia 300 AI chips from TSMC as it races to reduce its dependence on Nvidia

Microsoft in talks with TSMC for 300,000+ Maia 300 chips for 2027. Maia 300 unveil this fall. Follows Maia 200 launch in January. Ultimate goal: gigawatts of capacity. Anthropic alone uses 1M Amazon and Google chips. Microsoft's custom silicon is behind rivals. Microsoft is planning to "significantly" increase production of its next-generation AI chips, The Information reported. The company has been in discussions with TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 Maia 300 chips for delivery in 2027. Microsoft plans to unveil Maia 300 this fall, and a company manager said the ultimate goal is to produce "gigawatts' worth" of Maia chips. The scale of that ambition puts Microsoft on a path to build its own AI compute layer rather than buying everything from Nvidia. The urgency is real. Anthropic is building its own chip team and has deals to use one million Amazon Trainium chips and Google TPUs. Microsoft's custom chip programme started years after Amazon and Google began designing their own, and the Maia line is widely seen as less mature than its rivals' hardware. Maia 200, the second-generation accelerator, only started rolling out in January. The 300,000-unit order for Maia 300 is Microsoft's attempt to close that gap before its cloud customers start choosing Amazon or Google specifically because of their custom silicon. All three cloud giants are chasing the same prize: AI accelerators that cost less and run more efficiently than Nvidia's GPUs. Nvidia's chips remain the industry standard, but their high prices and chronic short supply have turned custom silicon from a nice-to-have into a strategic necessity. Microsoft recently told employees to stop "tokenmaxxing" and set division-level AI budgets, a sign that compute costs are becoming a constraint even at the company spending $35.8 billion per quarter on infrastructure. The challenge is execution. TSMC's advanced packaging capacity is tight through 2027, and Microsoft needs to persuade enterprise customers that Maia can match or beat Nvidia on the workloads that matter. The longer-term ambition is capacity for more than one million units, but component supplies could constrain that target. For now, 300,000 chips is a bet that Microsoft's custom silicon will be ready for production scale by 2027. If it works, Azure gets a cost advantage over Nvidia-dependent competitors. If it does not, Microsoft will have spent billions on a chip programme that is still a generation behind.

Microsoft to unveil Maia 300 AI chip this fall, targets 300,000 units

Microsoft $MSFT is planning to unveil its next-generation Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as September, according to Reuters, citing a report from The Information. Microsoft is negotiating with TSMC $TSM over production capacity to manufacture upward of 300,000 Maia 300 chips, targeting delivery sometime in 2027. Reuters also notes that Microsoft is eyeing eventual production of over one million units, a figure that may prove difficult to hit given parts availability and where talks with TSMC currently stand. Andrew Wall, general manager for Microsoft's Azure Maia, said in a statement that Microsoft "continues to invest in custom silicon as part of our long-term AI infrastructure strategy," adding that the production figures reported "don't reflect the scale of our program." TSMC did not respond to requests for comment. Microsoft introduced its first Maia AI chip in November 2023; the follow-on Maia 200, which arrived in January, relies on TSMC's 3-nanometer process and incorporates substantial SRAM -- a memory technology that gives AI systems a throughput edge when fielding heavy user traffic. Microsoft has fallen behind Alphabet $GOOGL and Amazon $AMZN in building out a homegrown chip operation. Google has started booking revenue from Tensor Processing Unit sales -- a milestone reached in the quarter that closed in June -- and Amazon's Trainium chips have been gaining traction with customers. Microsoft has been working to place Maia chips with major cloud customers. The company was in early talks to supply its Maia 200 chips to Anthropic for use in the AI startup's Claude models, though no deal had been finalized at that time. Anthropic has been building out its compute partnerships broadly -- it agreed to use Amazon Web Services' Trainium chips in a 10-year arrangement and announced plans to use Google's tensor processing units. The urgency behind Microsoft's push reflects broader competitive pressure. The competitive dynamic pushing Microsoft forward is shared across the industry: Google and Amazon are similarly racing to field proprietary AI accelerators that undercut Nvidia $NVDA on both price and power efficiency, even as Nvidia's hardware continues to set the benchmark and remains difficult to procure in sufficient volumes.

Microsoft could unveil Maia 300 AI chip as early as September: Report

Microsoft plans to launch its new Maia 300 AI chip this autumn. The company is securing production capacity for over 300,000 chips by 2027. This move aims to reduce reliance on Nvidia's expensive processors. Microsoft also seeks to attract major cloud customers like Anthropic. The tech giant eventually targets over one million Maia 300 chips. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 artificial intelligence chip this autumn, possibly as early as September, Reuters reported on Monday, citing The Information, which quoted people familiar with the plans. The company unveiled its first Maia chip in November 2023 but has trailed Alphabet and Amazon in expanding its in-house semiconductor programme as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's expensive processors. US MarketsPowered By As on 11 Aug 2026, 01:01 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers Datadog259.06(10.74%) APA40.91(8.70%) Akamai Technologies118.00(6.75%) Marathon Petroleum317.93(6.62%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Coterra Energy32.56(-8.62%) Verisk Analytics178.95(-6.71%) Trade Desk13.13(-4.89%) First Solar239.13(-4.37%) Losers" Microsoft is in talks with TSMC to secure production capacity for more than 300,000 Maia chips for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It also plans to scale up output significantly and attract major cloud customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft eventually aims to secure capacity for more than one million Maia 300 chips. However, component shortages and continuing negotiations with TSMC could constrain production, the report said. "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 programme," Andrew Wall, general manager for Microsoft's Azure Maia, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Microsoft unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 chip in January. Manufactured by TSMC using 3-nanometre technology, the chip contains a large amount of SRAM designed to accelerate AI systems that process high volumes of user requests. Google began generating revenue from direct sales of its custom Tensor Processing Units in the June quarter while Amazon has reported growing demand for its in-house chips, including Trainium. Microsoft shares rose 1.14%, or $5.69, to $505.68 on Monday. The stock opened at $503.44 and traded between $502.27 and $513.73, compared with its previous close of $499.99.

Microsoft Stock Rises 2%: Upcoming Maia 300 Chip Launch Targets Reduced Nvidia Reliance - Microsoft (NASD

The big tech giant is moving to unlock more value from its cloud and AI infrastructure business by scaling its in-house Maia chip program and reducing dependence on costly Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) processors. Microsoft Plans Maia 300 Launch Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans. Custom Chips Could Reduce NVIDIA Reliance Microsoft introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 and rolled out its second-generation Maia 200 in January. The Maia 200, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology, includes a significant amount of SRAM, which can give AI systems speed advantages when handling large volumes of user requests. Microsoft is now looking to ramp production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt Maia. The push comes as cloud providers seek alternatives to Nvidia's expensive processors and look for more cost-efficient computing options inside their data centers. The Chart Is Extended Microsoft is trading 18.6% above its 20-day SMA ($429.77) and 17.7% above its 200-day SMA ($433.04), a sign the current run has gotten stretched versus its longer-term trend. That extension matters because it can keep momentum traders engaged, but it also raises the odds of sharper pullbacks if buyers pause. Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $552.40. Recent analyst moves include: * Tigress Financial: Buy (Raises Forecast to $690.00) (Aug. 5) * Bernstein: Outperform (Raises Forecast to $647.00) (July 30) * Citigroup: Buy (Raises Forecast to $600.00) (July 30) Top ETF Exposure Significance: Because MSFT carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. Price Action MSFT Stock Price Activity: Microsoft shares were up 1.67% at $508.34 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Microsoft reportedly preparing to launch its Maia 300 chip as soon as September

Microsoft plans to publicly unveil its new Maia 300 artificial intelligence chip this fall, potentially as early as September, according to The Information. This next generation is expected to help the company speed up development of its own AI processors and reduce its reliance on Nvidia's expensive chips, after a slower rollout than some rivals since the first Maia was introduced in November 2023. The group is also said to be in talks with TSMC to reserve manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 Maia 300 chips, with deliveries scheduled for 2027. This ramp-up is intended to allow Microsoft to significantly increase output of its in-house processors and strengthen control over its infrastructure dedicated to artificial intelligence. Microsoft is also reportedly seeking to persuade major customers of its cloud services to use Maia 300, including Anthropic. The chip's development is part of a broader strategy aimed at offering a more integrated AI infrastructure, while keeping a lid on the costs tied to the rapid expansion of computing capacity.

Microsoft plans to unveil new Maia 300 AI chip in September, The Information reports

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Microsoft is planning to publicly unveil its new Maia 300 chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans. Microsoft introduced the Maia chip in November 2023 but has lagged its peers in ramping it up to scale as it looks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's costly processors. The company has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chips for delivery in 2027, according to the report. Microsoft is looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip, the report said. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. TSMC could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Pooja Desai)