On February 13, semiconductor design firm Arm made waves in the hardware industry by announcing that it will produce its own server CPUs and license its semiconductor designs. Meta has already signed on as the first partner. This shift means Arm transitions from a trusted resource for companies like Qualcomm and NVIDIA to a potential competitor.
According to the Financial Times, Arm’s CEO, Rene Haas, aims to unveil the new chip by summer 2024.
Arm will focus on developing and selling CPUs specifically for large data centers. The base architecture of these processors will be customizable for different customers, but detailed specs aren’t available yet. It’s important to note that Arm won’t handle manufacturing; that’ll be in the hands of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Also, reports from Reuters suggest Arm has started hiring from within its customer base.
SoftBank owns Arm, positioning it as a key player in the semiconductor sector. Most smartphones today, including high-profile models like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 8, feature Arm-designed chips capable of supporting AI. Even Apple’s M-series chips are based on Arm technology.
SoftBank’s founder, Masayoshi Son, has plans to utilize Arm to create a pipeline for AI production. There’s also support for the Stargate project, a U.S. initiative aimed at strengthening AI infrastructure alongside OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
Arm’s foray into making its own chips could shake up the server chip market, traditionally dominated by Intel and AMD. Due to their energy efficiency, Arm’s CPUs have gained traction in an era awash in resource-intensive AI workloads, giving them an edge over Intel.
This new direction puts Arm in direct competition with Qualcomm, with whom it’s currently entangled in legal disputes. In a recent case, Arm accused Qualcomm of misusing Nuvia processors. Although a jury didn’t reach a clear verdict, the conflict remains unresolved and might lead to further legal battles.
This move into CPU production also overlaps with NVIDIA’s territory. Despite being primarily recognized for GPUs, NVIDIA did attempt to acquire Arm in 2020—but faced antitrust hurdles. Even so, NVIDIA retains a financial interest in Arm and incorporates its designs into some of its products.
