Meta strikes AI chip deal with Broadcom, commits 1GW capacity amid board changes

Meta has entered into a strategic partnership with Broadcom to create innovative MTIA (Meta Training and Inference Accelerator) chips tailored for its applications and services. In a significant move, Meta announced plans to launch an initial set of AI chips with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt, with intentions to scale up production to several gigawatts in the future, utilizing Broadcom's cutting-edge technology. In conjunction with this partnership, it was disclosed that Hock Tan, Broadcom's CEO, will resign from the board of directors to take on a role as an advisor to Meta. This leadership transition was made public in the latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as through a blog post by Meta. The MTIA chips are touted as the industry's first 2nm AI compute accelerators designed for long-term infrastructure deployment. Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Meta, emphasized the importance of this collaboration, stating, "Meta is partnering with Broadcom across chip design, packaging, and networking to build the extensive computing foundation necessary to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of users." Broadcom will work closely with Meta on the design and efficient packaging of these AI chips, alongside developing robust networking systems. This collaboration aims to establish a substantial computing backbone capable of supporting real-time AI functionalities for a vast user base. The partnership leverages Broadcom’s XPU platform, which is instrumental in creating custom AI chips and advancing Meta’s AI hardware for future generations. Additionally, Broadcom will supply advanced Ethernet technology to enhance data transfer speeds and facilitate seamless communication among extensive clusters of AI machines. Hock Tan of Broadcom remarked, "This initial MTIA deployment marks the start of a long-term, multi-generational strategy to accommodate the anticipated surge in demand over the coming years, showcasing Broadcom's unparalleled expertise in AI networking and the capabilities of our foundational XPU custom accelerator platform."