Facebook is building its own computer chips — to show you better ads

Facebook is branching into chip design, with the social network assembling a team of engineers to build semiconductors for the platform, Bloomberg reports.

The chips will be used in its data centers, artificial intelligence systems, and consumer hardware, such as speakers and VR headsets.

The report is bolstered by job listings on the company’s website, advertising for engineers to help it gain more control over its hardware and software.

By building its own chips, Facebook will follow in the footsteps of Silicon Valley peers Google and Apple, who already manufacture their own semiconductors.

There are numerous areas where Facebook could leverage custom chip design to boost performance.

The company has long been designing its own servers to improve the storage of user data. Using its own chips in those servers will improve efficiency and speed.

Facebook is also expanding into the consumer hardware market, reportedly building a smart speaker to rival Amazon’s Echo and Google Home. The company is also preparing to launch a standalone VR headset called Oculus Go.

Artificial intelligence is also an area where Facebook is expending a huge amount of resources. The company established Facebook’s AI Research (FAIR) lab at its headquarters in 2013 — adding offices in New York, Paris and Montreal in the years since.

Google last year launched its Tensorflow chips, which have been designed specifically to aid AI computation. Given how widely Facebook uses AI within the company, building its own AI chips seems like a natural progression.

Among the areas Facebook currently uses AI are:

• Automatically flag suicidal behavior
• Block offensive comments on Instagram
• Facial recognition
• Translating posts from one language to another
• Automatically removing terrorist content

Yet probably the most important use of AI inside the network is to serve its two billion users with relevant and targeted advertising.

While Facebook likes to promote itself as a cutting-edge technology company, with interests in artificial intelligence, virtual reality and even a huge solar-power drone delivering internet to remote parts of Africa, the reality is that the network is first-and-foremost an advertising company.

Some 90 percent of Facebook’s revenues are derived from ad sales.

Better AI means Facebook can more accurately gauge users interests and likes based on the content they post, and improve its ability to put more relevant ads in front of users.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Yann LeCun, Facebook’s chief AI scientist, wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was seeking engineers for the chips, posting a message on Twitter highlighting several positions currently vacant.

Cover image: This photo illustration taken on March 22, 2018 shows the Facebook logo on a mobile phone screen in Shanghai. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)