Meta in talks to use Alphabet's AI chips - report

(Sharecast News) - Meta Platforms is considering using Alphabet's high-tech chips, it was reported on Tuesday, weighing on the shares of semiconductor giant Nvidia. According to The Information, Meta - which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram - is in talks with the Google parent to use its tensor processing units (TPUs) in data centres in 2027.

Should a deal be struck, it would help establish TPUs as an alternative to Nvidia's chips, currently the gold standard in powering artificial intelligence.

Nvidia shares were down 2% as at 0845 GMT, while Alphabet was up 3%.

Neither Meta nor Google have commented on the reports.

Nvidia has long dominated the AI semiconductor market, with few competitors, and now boasts a record $4.4trn market capitalisation.

Last week, its much-anticipated third-quarter numbers came in ahead of estimates, boosting the wider tech sector and temporarily pausing concerns about a possible AI bubble.

Google, which recently launched the latest model of its Gemini AI model, is a key client of Nvidia. But Alphabet has also been developing its own powerful chips, accessible as a service through its cloud, as it looks to further cash in on the AI boom.

Last month it secured a major cloud partnership with Anthropic, which gives the fast-growing AI start up access to up to 1m TPUs.