Microsoft has unveiled two custom-designed computing chips, Maia and Cobalt, aimed at boosting its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The Maia chip, intended for AI computing tasks, will power Microsoft's subscription software offerings and the Azure cloud computing service. It's optimized for running large language models and supports Microsoft's collaboration with OpenAI. The Cobalt chip, a central processing unit (CPU) based on Arm Holdings technology, serves as an internal cost saver and a competitor to Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Graviton series. Microsoft plans to offer direct access to Cobalt and aims to compete with AWS in terms of performance and price-to-performance. The Maia chip, while not for sale, enables Microsoft to deliver AI services in the cloud until personal devices can handle them effectively. The Maia chip would be strung together with standard Ethernet network cabling, rather than a more expensive custom Nvidia networking technology.