
Audio By Carbonatix
Facebook looks to be in the early stages of developing its own silicon to power its devices and servers, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The company is looking to hire a manager tasked with assembling an “end-to-end SoC / ASIC, firmware, and driver development organization.”
So the plan is only coming together, but Facebook’s interest in becoming more self-reliant — and less dependent on outside companies like Qualcomm — makes it the latest tech giant to start down this path.
Apple already has self-branded chips inside its iOS devices and is reportedly planning to replace the Intel processors in Mac computers with its own.
Google produces custom AI chips and included its first consumer-focused silicon (an image processor) in the Pixel 2 last year. It’s likely that the company has much bigger ambitions as part of its hardware rivalry with Apple. Amazon is said to be developing chips to improve Alexa’s AI smarts.
Facebook’s job listings are under the category of infrastructure, so it’s very probable that the chip team will be putting its efforts toward the company’s artificial intelligence servers.
Right now the servers, which train Facebook’s AI systems, are Nvidia-powered. Mark Zuckerberg has said that AI will eventually play an even bigger role in flagging inappropriate content across the social network than it does currently, though it’s really not a viable solution for the company’s deeper issues.
But Facebook could also power smart speakers or future Oculus virtual reality headsets with its own chips. That would allow the company to make the kind of improvements and optimizations that are only possible when hardware and software are tightly integrated throughout the entire development process.
Of course, people still accuse Facebook of spying on them despite hard evidence to the contrary, so there might be a bit of a trust problem if the company starts putting its own silicon into consumer gadgets.
Latest Stories
-
Ipswich complete £20m deal for Ghana winger Fatawu
9 minutes -
Forest make enquiry for Sporting’s Diomande
22 minutes -
Ferguson says Keegan built Newcastle’s greatest team
31 minutes -
Villa in talks to sign Chelsea’s Garnacho
42 minutes -
Keeper Martinez may ‘step aside’ from Argentina
47 minutes -
Infantino’s ‘time is up’ with Fifa – La Liga boss
50 minutes -
Ghana’s gross reserves plummet to US$12.94bn in June 2026, but trade surplus hits US$8.80bn
58 minutes -
QPR sign former Brighton full-back Lamptey
1 hour -
Carney looking at ‘all options’ as Trump announces 50% tariffs on Canada
1 hour -
Ozempic-maker accuses rival of false advertising
1 hour -
Ghana’s public debt hits GH¢720.8bn in May 2026
1 hour -
‘Software error’ led to almost 400 non-citizens voting in New Jersey, governor says
1 hour -
Police officers arrested for allegedly seeking roadside bribe from Nigeria’s anti-corruption boss
2 hours -
Immigration lawyer explains why US judge ruled in Ofori-Atta’s favour
2 hours -
Godzilla vs Kong actress Kaylee Hottle dies in crash at 18
2 hours