Microsoft has been investing in its own AI chip code-named Athena since 2019

The Information website reports that since 2019, Microsoft has been developing an artificial intelligence chip, code-named “Athena.” Currently, this chip is being utilized by select small-scale internal teams at Microsoft and the OpenAI technical team.

Through this chip, Microsoft aims to significantly enhance the response time of large-scale natural language models, expediting the comprehension of user interaction requirements and responding in a manner closely resembling human language.

Initiating research and development in 2019 demonstrates Microsoft’s intent to accelerate AI interaction speeds with a dedicated chip, long before ChatGPT gained rapid popularity. The company aspires to achieve superior computational performance and differentiate itself from competitors relying on GPU-based acceleration for AI technology.

In addition to Microsoft’s endeavors in proprietary AI chip development, industry players such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook have each invested in designing their own AI chips. By pairing their hardware efforts with software advancements, these companies seek to accelerate AI computational capabilities while integrating large-scale natural language models to facilitate more natural and swift interactive experiences with AI technology.