Microsoft has announced its first ever artificial intelligence (AI) chip, Maia 100, which could compete with Nvidia's AI graphics processing units. The tech giant also introduced an Arm-based chip, Cobalt 100, for general computing tasks, targeting competition with Intel. Both chips will be available via Microsoft's Azure cloud. However, timelines for releasing the Maia 100 weren't disclosed. The move is part of larger industry trends, with tech companies like Alibaba, Amazon and Google diversifying cloud infrastructure options for their clients.