By Timothy Prickett Morgan
Publication Date: 2026-10-13 18:17:00
If everyone has an AI inference problem, with tokens still being too expensive to generate even with state of the art GPU and XPU accelerators, Microsoft probably has the biggest inference problem in the world.
For one thing, running inference for OpenAI ChatGPT models as well as helping the AI model builder train its models is a big job. And then all of Microsoft’s worker productivity and back office applications are being infused with AI routines, and this is driving usage up the hockey stick handle at a rapid pace.
That is why Microsoft is putting the pedal to the metal with its Maia family of custom, homegrown XPU accelerators, and letting customers know Microsoft is working on the problem is why the company has rolled out the feeds and speeds on its future “Clea” Maia 300 accelerator as the Open Compute Project Summit 2026 kicks off this week.
The Maia 300 chip is a much-improved device, and it has a number of architectural changes that are designed to…