Meta will manufacture its custom Iris AI chip in September 2026 to reduce Nvidia reliance

Meta plans to begin manufacturing its in-house AI chip, codenamed Iris, in September 2026 as a strategic move to double its computing capacity to 14 gigawatts by 2027 and reduce reliance on external GPU suppliers like Nvidia and AMD. The custom silicon, developed with Broadcom and produced by TSMC, is designed to optimize AI systems powering Facebook and Instagram and passed a six-week testing phase without major issues^[1][2]. This production start marks a key milestone in Meta's aggressive four-generation MTIA roadmap, which aims to release a new AI chip every six months through 2027 to lower costs and control its own hardware deployment schedule^[1][3]. While Iris will augment rather than replace the massive volumes of GPUs Meta continues to purchase, the shift to custom silicon allows the tech giant to deploy hardware on its own timeline amid rising chip prices^[2][3].