REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is preparing to unveil its next-generation Maia 300 artificial intelligence chip as early as September, according to a report by The Information, as the software giant accelerates efforts to expand its in-house AI hardware capabilities.

Citing people with direct knowledge of the plans, the report said Microsoft aims to introduce the new chip this fall.

The company launched its first Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has trailed rivals Alphabet and Amazon in scaling its custom chip business as it works to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's costly AI processors.

Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, known as Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June. Amazon has also reported growing adoption of its custom processors, including its Trainium chips.

According to the report, Microsoft has been in discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to secure production capacity for more than 300,000 Maia 300 chips for delivery in 2027.

The company is also seeking to significantly increase production and encourage major cloud customers, including Anthropic, to adopt the new chip.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TSMC could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

The report said Microsoft ultimately hopes to secure manufacturing capacity for more than one million Maia 300 chips, although component availability and ongoing negotiations with TSMC could limit those plans.

Microsoft introduced its second-generation Maia 200 chip in January. Manufactured by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology, the processor includes a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large volumes of user requests.