Meta could be about to buy a lot of Broadcom chips to build its metaverse TechRadar Skip to main content TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. Meta could be about to buy a lot of Broadcom chips to build its metaverse By Max Slater-Robins published 1 June 2022 Meta is reportedly Broadcom's newest big customer for AI chips (Image credit: Future) Audio player loading… Meta could be set to splash the cash on buying some (very expensive) data centre chips. According to JP Morgan analysts (via Reuters (opens in new tab)), Meta is planning on using custom chips developed by Broadcom to power its metaverse dreams. Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips will drive between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in revenue for Broadcom in 2022, driven by deals from Meta, Google, and other giants. Powering the metaverse "We believe these wins are primarily at 5 nanometre and 3 nanometre and will be used to power Meta's metaverse hardware architecture that it will deploy over the next few years," said JP Morgan's Harlan Sur. Sur believes that Meta will spend around $1 billion per year on Broadcom chips over the next three or four years, making it the second such customer after Google. ASIC chips are specifically designed for intensive AI applications that require huge processing power all at once. Google has been co-developing ASIC chips with Broadcom since 2016, in a deal worth over $1.3 billion in 2022. Everything everywhere all at once  Meta plans to spend around $10 billion per year, as it did in 2021 (opens in new tab), to build the metaverse, a concept that remains difficult to define, even by Meta's own executives (opens in new tab). One of the hardest things is that beyond a fancy PR video, created using CGI, the exact contours of what the metaverse will look like remain up for debate. READ MORE> Meta is already making its metaverse simpler - or at least less confusing (opens in new tab) > Meta's Project Cambria won't make working in the metaverse enjoyable (opens in new tab) > Zoom is adding its own tiny metaverse for private meetings (opens in new tab) The broad principles are there – socialising, working, playing, and so on – but getting there is going to take several years. Buying chips from Broadcom, who have a history of making them, rather than developing its own (as was originally planned (opens in new tab)), could be recognition from Meta that starting from absolute zero is a very challenging road indeed. Broadcom is having a pretty massive few weeks, having recently announced its plan to acquire VMware for $61 billion.Get a head start on the metaverse with the best VR headsets Max Slater-Robins Max Slater-Robins has been writing about technology for nearly a decade at various outlets, covering the rise of the technology giants, trends in enterprise and SaaS companies, and much more besides. Originally from Suffolk, he currently lives in London and likes a good night out and walks in the countryside. See more Computing news Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to theTechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. MOST POPULARMOST SHARED1You may not have to sell a body part to afford the Nvidia RTX 4090 after all2It looks like Fallout's spiritual successor is getting a PS5 remaster3My days as a helpful meat shield are over, thanks to the Killer Klown horror game4Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro: the 7 most exciting new camera features5Micro-LED 4K TVs aren't trying to kill OLED, they're aiming at projectors1We finally know what 'Wi-Fi' stands for - and it's not what you think2Dreamforce 2022 live: All the announcements from this year's show3'Go small or go home': HTC teases a new Vive VR headset4She-Hulk episode 8 just confirmed Netflix's Daredevil TV show is canon in the MCU5Google's new AI lets you turn words into HD videos Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)● (opens in new tab)The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviewsFrom$12.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)