Intel's Crescent Island GPU Debuts, Oracle's Massive AI GPU Deployment, and Meta's $27B Data Center Venture - Silicon Brief #41

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In this edition of Silicon Brief, we're diving into the latest developments in AI chips and data centers. Intel has announced its Q3 earnings and is focusing on its foundry business, while also unveiling the Crescent Island GPU at the OCP Summit. Meanwhile, Oracle is planning to deploy 50,000 AMD GPUs for AI by 2026, highlighting the growing demand for advanced processing power in AI applications.

On the data center front, Future Form Manufacturing is expanding its production capacity in the US, and Reliance Industries is set to invest $12-15 billion in AI infrastructure. Additionally, Microsoft is leasing AI data center capacity in Portugal, and Meta is teaming up with Blue Owl Capital to form a $27 billion AI data center venture. These moves underscore the rapid growth and investment in AI technologies and infrastructure worldwide.

GSI Technology, Inc. has unveiled its Gemini-I Compute-In-Memory APU, offering GPU-class AI performance with reduced energy consumption, as validated by Cornell University researchers. Meanwhile, VoltaGrid and Oracle have partnered to supply 2.3 gigawatts of natural gas power to Oracle's AI data centers, utilizing Energy Transfer's pipeline network.

Open Compute Project has launched the Ethernet for Scale-Up Networking (ESUN) initiative to standardize Ethernet for AI data centers, supported by major tech companies. Meanwhile, Microsoft has increased its investment in the German startup etalytics to €16 million, focusing on improving datacenter cooling efficiency.

Reliance Industries Ltd is set to invest $12-15 billion in AI infrastructure, including a 1GW data center, through its new subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp plans to lease data center capacity from Nscale in Sines, Portugal, utilizing Nvidia's latest AI chips and focusing on renewable energy, with operations expected by early 2026.

Intel reported a net income of $4.1 billion for Q3 2025, marking a recovery from past losses, while introducing its Crescent Island GPU at the 2025 OCP Global Summit, designed for inferencing workloads. Meanwhile, Oracle plans to deploy 50,000 AMD Instinct MI450 GPUs for a new AI supercluster by Q3 2026, expanding their partnership with AMD.