Microsoft has dramatically scaled up its artificial intelligence capabilities by purchasing 485,000 Nvidia Hopper chips in 2024, more than doubling the acquisitions of its closest competitors in the tech industry.
The massive procurement represents over three times the number of Nvidia chips Microsoft bought in 2023. For comparison, Meta acquired 224,000 Hopper chips during the same period.
This substantial investment aligns with Microsoft's expanding focus on artificial intelligence technology. The company has strengthened its partnership with OpenAI and participated in a $6.6 billion funding round for the AI research company in October.
Beyond chip procurement, Microsoft has been developing its own AI hardware. In late 2023, the company unveiled Maia, its custom-designed AI chip. The tech giant has also secured long-term power arrangements for its growing data center needs, including a 20-year agreement to purchase power from the reopened Three Mile Island nuclear plant.
The unprecedented scale of Microsoft's chip acquisition indicates the company's strong commitment to building AI infrastructure. As the race for AI development intensifies among tech giants, Microsoft's investment in Nvidia's high-performance chips positions the company at the forefront of AI computing capabilities.
This strategic move reflects the growing demand for specialized AI hardware as companies compete to develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence systems.