Microsoft Unveils Maia 300 AI Chip for Cloud Inference

Microsoft announced its third-generation Maia AI chip, the Maia 300, on October 12, 2026. This chip is designed to be the "primary AI inference system" for Microsoft's products and services. The Maia 300 aims to enhance the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of running AI workloads in the cloud. Additionally, it is more capable of handling advanced reasoning models and agentic tasks. This development positions Microsoft to be less reliant on Nvidia's GPUs for its AI infrastructure.