A new report from Bloomberg says that Microsoft is working with AMD to develop artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
Earlier in April, a report from The Information said that Microsoft was developing a processor specifically designed for AI servers with the codename Athena.
A new report from Bloomberg mentions that Microsoft is providing financial support to AMD to enter the AI chip market. While in the opposite direction, AMD is supporting Microsoft in the production of an AI processor codenamed Athena with the participation of up to several hundred people. Neither AMD nor Microsoft responded to this comment. A Microsoft spokesperson denied AMD was part of Project Athena
If this information is correct, it seems that AMD is trying to capture the AI market share that is currently dominated by Nvidia. The company is providing H100 processors inside Microsoft’s Bing Chat servers and other AI services. Microsoft is said to also want to create its own AI chips so as not to depend on Nvidia solutions.
The Redmond-based group has built up its silicon division over the past few years under a former Intel Corporation executive, which now employs nearly 1,000 people. Microsoft is said to have spent up to 2 billion USD to develop its Athena chip.
Still, an alternative to Nvidia’s lineup would be challenging. Nvidia now offers software and hardware packages that work together including chips, programming languages, networking equipment, and servers, allowing customers to rapidly upgrade their capabilities.
That’s one of the reasons why Nvidia has become so dominant in this market, but Microsoft isn’t alone in developing its own AI processors. Amazon acquired Annapurna Labs in 2016 and has developed two different AI processors. Alphabet Inc’s Google. also has its own AI training chip.
Microsoft and AMD have a long history of cooperation in the hardware field. Custom AMD chips are already in the Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X consoles