Earlier this year, Meta had begun testing its first in-house AI chip, according to previous reports
In sum – what to know:
Meta acquires RISC-V startup – Meta is buying Santa Clara-based Rivos to strengthen in-house semiconductor design and reduce dependence on external suppliers for AI chips.
Open-source architecture focus – Rivos develops processors built on RISC-V, offering an alternative to proprietary Arm, Intel, and AMD designs.
Strategic AI cost play – The deal aligns with Meta’s push to lower AI infrastructure costs as it tests its own training chips and continues buying Nvidia GPUs.
Meta Platforms is set to acquire Rivos, a Santa Clara-based chip startup specializing in RISC-V architecture, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The move underscores Meta’s drive to strengthen its in-house semiconductor capabilities as it works to reduce reliance on external suppliers for AI infrastructure.
Rivos, backed by Intel board member and longtime investor Lip-Bu Tan, develops processors using the open-source RISC-V instruction set — an alternative to proprietary designs from Arm, Intel, and AMD. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Meta has been one of Rivos’ largest customers and had held ongoing discussions about a potential acquisition, the report stated, citing a second source. The deal comes as Meta increases its investment in custom silicon to offset mounting infrastructure costs linked to advanced AI model training.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Meta had begun testing its first in-house AI chip. At the same time, the company has remained one of the largest buyers of Nvidia’s GPUs, which power many of its AI workloads.
Rivos was reportedly seeking funding at a valuation above $2 billion as recently as August, according to The Information.
Last month, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company expects to spend at least $600 billion on U.S. data centers and related infrastructure by 2028.
The estimate, reported by The Information, came during a recent dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump and technology executives. The figure aligns with Meta’s previous guidance, which projected capital expenditures of $66–72 billion for 2025 — up nearly 70% from 2024.
Meta also said it anticipates “similarly significant” spending growth in 2026 as it scales computing power for artificial intelligence.
