Meta's Iris AI Chip Set for September Mass Production in TSMC Partnership

Meta is expanding its in-house “Iris” AI chip program and computing infrastructure as it seeks to reduce reliance on a single GPU supplier and improve efficiency across AI workloads. The strategy reflects a broader shift among cloud giants toward using custom ASICs alongside GPUs, potentially creating new design and manufacturing opportunities for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Taiwan’s semiconductor IP and ASIC suppliers.

The latest report said Meta is pressing ahead with Iris and related infrastructure as demand for AI computing remains robust and major technology companies show little sign of slowing near-term capital spending. Analysts expect the parallel expansion of GPUs and custom silicon to reshape Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain. The report did not disclose Meta’s investment amount, an Iris production target or a firm deployment date.

Meta has long worked with Broadcom to develop its in-house MTIA AI accelerator chips. Custom designs for recommendation, advertising and generative AI workloads improve data-center computing efficiency. The initiative is central to securing the computing power Meta needs to build “personal superintelligence” and helps reduce its reliance on external GPU suppliers such as NVIDIA, along with the associated supply risks.

Meta and Broadcom have extended their MTIA partnership agreement through 2029 and plan to expand chip deployment. The collaboration will focus on the first MTIA chip built using a 2-nanometer process, which is expected to become a key foundation of Meta’s in-house AI computing infrastructure. The contract value and precise mass-production date have not been disclosed, but the agreement explicitly runs through 2029.

Meta is continuing to expand its in-house Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) chip lineup to reduce its reliance on third-party AI accelerators. The series supports generative AI and content recommendation systems, while giving Meta flexibility to allocate computing capacity between its own hardware ecosystem and external suppliers.

Meta most recently announced that it is working with Broadcom and TSMC to develop four chips: the MTIA 300, 400, 450 and 500. It has also shortened the product iteration cycle to about six months. The four chips are expected to be progressively rolled out and fully deployed by 2027. Meta will continue buying third-party chips as part of a strategy to diversify supply and computing risks.