Delay to Nvidia's new AI chip could affect Microsoft, Google, Meta, the Information says

(Reuters) - Design flaws could cause a delay of three months or more in the launch of chip giant Nvidia's upcoming artificial-intelligence chips, tech-focused publication the Information said on Friday.

The setback could affect customers such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft, which have collectively ordered tens of billions of dollars' worth of chips, it said, citing people who help produce chip and server hardware for Nvidia.

The AI chip company unveiled its Blackwell chip series in March, succeeding its earlier flagship AI chip, the Grace Hopper Superchip, that was designed to speed generative AI applications.

"As we've stated before, Hopper demand is very strong, broad Blackwell sampling has started, and production is on track to ramp in the second half," an Nvidia spokesperson said in an emailed statement in response to the report.

Microsoft said it had nothing to add, while Meta and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nvidia informed Microsoft and another major cloud service provider this week of a delay in the production of its most advanced AI chip in the Blackwell series, the Information said, citing a Microsoft employee and another person with knowledge of the matter.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, William Mallard and Matthew Lewis)