Microsoft deploys Maia 200, its homegrown inference accelerator, to take back the cost of AI in Azure

Announced on January 26, 2026 and built on TSMC’s 3nm process, Microsoft’s Maia 200 accelerator is now rolling out across Azure datacenters with 30% better performance per dollar. It is Azure’s bet on homegrown silicon to break its dependence on NVIDIA and OpenAI.