Microsoft is set to release its custom Cobalt 100 chips to customers as a public preview at its upcoming Build conference. These chips are said to offer 40% better performance than other ARM chips on the market and are being compared to AWS’s Graviton chips. Companies like Adobe and Snowflake have already started using them.
The Cobalt chips were first announced last November and are 64-bit chips based on the Arm architecture with 128 cores. In addition to the Cobalt chips, Microsoft will also be making AMD’s MI300X accelerators available to Azure customers. These chips have gained popularity as alternatives to the expensive Nvidia chips in the AI space.
Microsoft will also be lowering its prices for accessing and running large language models at the Build conference, although the details are still unclear. They will also introduce a new real-time intelligence system that enables real-time data streaming to their data analytics system, Fabric.
Another partnership Microsoft will announce is with Snowflake, where Fabric will support Snowflake’s Iceberg format for seamless interoperability. Additionally, a new feature will be released for Copilot that allows developers to manage their Azure resources using natural language, further streamlining the development process.
This move by Microsoft signifies their commitment to advancing technology and providing more efficient and cost-effective solutions for their customers. The integration of different systems and the focus on real-time data streaming highlight Microsoft’s emphasis on innovation and meeting the evolving needs of the industry. As cloud computing and AI continue to shape the tech landscape, Microsoft’s developments in custom chips and real-time analytics mark a significant step forward in the industry.
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https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/16/microsofts-custom-cobalt-chips-will-come-to-azure-next-week/
