$15 billion: Microsoft signs an XXL partnership to create its own chips with Intel

Microsoft and Intel will now move forward hand in hand on chip design. The agreement signed between the two groups should allow Microsoft to benefit from processors tailor-made for its needs.

15 billion dollars on the table according to Intel and an agreement signed with Microsoft which could give new impetus to both the Californian founder and the Redmond giant in chip manufacturing. We learn from The Verge that the two groups will now be partners in this area. More precisely, Intel will produce “custom” processors for Microsoft designed in-house… by Microsoft.

Announced on February 21 as part of an Intel Foundry event, the agreement remains vague as to the exact nature of the chips that will be produced by, and for, Microsoft with the assistance of Intel's foundries.

According to Bloomberg, however, it seems that Microsoft is counting on the internal design of processors, but also of AI accelerators, probably intended for its own products. Enough to give us a (small) idea of ​​what is being prepared.

Microsoft and Intel partners on chips… for AI?

“ We are in the middle of a very exciting platform shift that will fundamentally transform productivity for every individual organization and the entire industry,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, in a press release published for the occasion.

If this statement sheds little light on what we should concretely expect from this partnership, we still discover that the chips manufactured for Microsoft will be based on Intel's 18A process, which is equivalent to 1.8 nm engraving.

A very advanced technology, therefore, constitutes the cornerstone of Intel Foundry in its strategy aimed at competing with TSMC as an independent foundry. A direction taken by the group quickly after the arrival of Pat Gelsinger as CEO in 2021.

As a reminder, TSMC is currently the first independent founder in the world. The group has both the most advanced engraving processes, but also the largest customers, notably Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD. By signing an agreement with the colossus that is Microsoft, Intel Foundry is therefore sending a strong message to its rival.