Meta Platforms has hired a chip executive from Microsoft to oversee its work developing custom chips for hardware devices, according to two people familiar with the matter. The hire comes as Meta is evaluating the company’s silicon strategy, a move that could spell more layoffs.
Jean Boufarhat, who currently serves as corporate vice president of silicon engineering at Microsoft, is joining to run Meta’s Facebook Agile Silicon Team, or FAST. He succeeds Ofer Shacham, who moved to Israel from California about a year ago but continued to run the team after his move. Shacham was recently notified that he would be replaced, and it is unclear if he will stay with the company.
