Facebook 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.
The new team will obviously design semiconductors, adding to a trend among technology companies to supply themselves and lower their dependence on chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm.
A system on chip, or SOC, is a type of semiconductor that contains several discrete components built into one piece of silicon. An ASIC, or applications specific integrated circuit, is a chip designed for a more specific purposes, such as running a particular piece of software.
Facebook could use such chips to power hardware devices, artificial intelligence software and servers in its data centers. Next month, the company will launch the Oculus Go, a $200 standalone virtual-reality headset that runs on a Qualcomm processor. Facebook is also working on a slew of smart speakers.
Facebook declined to comment.
In 2010, Apple Inc. started shipping its own chips and now uses them across many of its major product lines. Google has also developed its own artificial intelligence chip.