The channels in Microsoft’s new microfluidics design match the heat signatures of chips, resembling the veins of a plant. Instead of placing a cooling plate on top of a chip, the approach brings liquid coolant directly inside the processor itself through tiny channels. (Microsoft Photo)While the working prototype was demonstrated on a commercially available Intel Xeon chip, Microsoft says the innovation is part of a broader strategy to improve its entire hardware fleet. “The demands of Al are such that, frankly, hardware on its own cannot keep up,” Borkar said during a recent media briefing and tour of Microsoft’s Silicon Lab in Redmond. Longer term, the company sees the cooling technology as a foundational step toward a revolutionary new type of chip architecture: 3D stacking.