Executive in charge of AI chip development to depart – sources
Two sources familiar with the matter have revealed that a Meta Platforms executive responsible for the development of the company’s own artificial intelligence chips will be stepping down from her position by the end of this month.
Alexis Black Bjorlin, Meta’s vice president of infrastructure and a veteran of chip companies Broadcom and Intel, led a team tasked with designing a custom chip for a variety of AI jobs, a key part of the company’s efforts to revamp its vast data network. focuses on an era dominated by chatbots and image generators. He will step down this month but will not leave the company immediately, one of the sources said.
Yee Jiun Song, Meta’s director of engineering, will take over his role, and the company will continue its efforts to develop its own AI hardware, one of the sources said.
Black Bjorlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, Meta is expected to offer new details about its mixed-reality headset, a window into what it calls the “metaverse.” A key feature of this world is virtual assistants with distinctive personalities, sources have told Reuters.
To create and enhance these and other features, Meta is renovating its data centers and building powerful supercomputers with Nvidia chips.
Reuters reported earlier this year that Meta is also developing its own custom chips, which would help it both control costs and better chart its own path independent of commercial chip suppliers. Some of the company’s initial efforts proved slower than using existing chips, leading the company to scrap some of its AI chips. Meta is working on a newer chip that covers all types of AI jobs.
