A Facebook job posting indicates the company is looking to design its own system-on-a-chip or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC):
Facebook Inc. is building a team to design its own semiconductors, adding to a trend among technology companies to supply themselves and lower their dependence on chipmakers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., according to job listings and people familiar with the matter.
The social media company is seeking to hire a manager to build an "end-to-end SoC/ASIC, firmware and driver development organization," according to a job listing on its corporate website, indicating the effort is still in its early stages.
The Menlo Park, California-based company would join other technology giants tackling the massive effort to develop chips. In 2010, Apple Inc. started shipping its own chips and now uses them across many of its major product lines. Alphabet Inc.'s Google has developed its own artificial intelligence chip as well.
Also at TechCrunch and The Verge.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 20 2018, @04:45PM
It won't be more resistant to malware. A microprocessor just executes instructions. It doesn't know if they are maleware.
What it will do is to fracture the size of teams that do analysis on machine code malware.
People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.