03-07-2025
Microsoft Recalibrates Its AI Chip Roadmap
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has pushed back its most ambitious in-house AI chipscodenamed Braga-R and Cleato 2028 or later, while deferring Maia 200 to 2026 and focusing on interim designs after development delays.
Microsoft released its first in-house AI chip, Maia 100, last year and originally slated Maia 200 for 2025. Facing design and tooling hurdles, the company has now moved Maia 200 to 2026. Its follow-up Braga chip only wrapped up design last monthsix months lateand the successor Braga-R won't reach mass production until 2028.
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Clea, the third-generation AI ASIC, has slipped even further into a post-2028 timeline. These delays ripple through Microsoft's supplier Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL), which provides key chip components and saw its shares dip on the news.
Custom AI silicon is a strategic lever for hyperscalers to optimize cost and performance, but extended timelines risk keeping Microsoft tethered to Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPUs. Slower in-house rollouts could impact Microsoft's large-scale AI deployments and cede momentum to rivals like Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ:AMZN), which itself partners with Marvell on its Trainium chips.
By reprioritizing interim designs through 2026 and beyond, Microsoft aims to maintain progress in custom silicon, but it now faces a critical balancing act between in-house innovation and third-party dependencies.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
