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Is Arm planning to make its own chips and not just sell rights to its IP and CPU designs to other companies? So says the FT in what would be a hugely disruptive development, if true.
In fact, the FT claims Arm could unveil its first in-house processor as early as this summer with future chips powering a revolutionary AI strategy—including a new Jony Ive-design personal device.
The first chip is said to be a server CPU, so it won’t be going into your next gaming PC. But it’s still very big news with all kinds of implications.
The FT says the move is part of a broader plan by Arm’s Japanese owner Softbank to move heavily into, yup you guessed it, AI, with a planned $500 billion to be spent on infrastructure in partnership with OpenAI.
That initial in-house Arm chip is actually said to be a server CPU that can be customized for clients, the most notable of which is claimed to be Meta. It’s not clear how that chip, which does not appear to be overtly AI-aligned, fits in with Softbank’s broader strategy for Arm.
That said, the FT mentions how Arm’s move could be part of plans by former Apple designer Jony Ive in partnership with OpenAI and Softbank to create a new AI-powered personal device with a revolutionary, highly intuitive interface.
Back on the humble old dumb PC, Arm moving into making its own chips will surely only serve to accelerate the long-mooted annexation of the PC, with Intel and AMD’s x86 processors eventually usurped by Arm chips.
That’s been predicted for decades and yet never actually materialised. However, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips have been the most plausible possible usurpers, yet. Meanwhile, Nvidia, which tried and failed to buy Arm recently, is also said to be planning a new PC chip of its own based on Arm IP.
It’s worth noting that Arm currently licenses both its instruction set and actual CPU designs. But it doesn’t actually commission the production of any chips itself.
What’s more, it’s not clear what the implications might be with its ongoing fight with Qualcomm. During court fisticuffs with Qualcomm late last year, Arm pointed out that it has never built chips itself. However, it also said it is also always considering new strategies for the future.
Anyway, this is ultimately a case of wait and see. Will Arm do its own chips? Will they eventually go into PCs? Could Arm become a major player in AI? Could your smartphone be replaced by a whole new device paradigm powered by an Arm-made AI chip? Honestly, who knows!
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Kurt Indovina
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