Arm Enters Chip Making with Meta as a Confirmed Customer

Key Takeaways

1. MediaTek and Nvidia are entering the “AI PC” sector, increasing competition for Intel, AMD, and Apple.
2. Arm is planning to launch a new chip aimed at data centers and servers, supported by the acquisition of Ampere.
3. Arm has secured Meta as a significant client for its upcoming chip, indicating potential use in consumer devices.
4. There could be conflicts of interest as many companies rely on Arm’s intellectual property while competing in the market.
5. Production may involve TSMC and potentially Intel, with a likelihood of using older TSMC nodes for the initial chip version.

With MediaTek and Nvidia set to enter the “AI PC” sector later this year, Intel, AMD, and Apple are about to face new competition. However, a fifth player is also looking to join the competition: Arm. CEO Rene Haas may reveal the new chip “as early as this summer.”

Arm’s Ambitions

This upcoming Arm chip is intended for use in data centers and server markets. The efforts of Arm will be supported by Ampere, a company that Softbank (Arm’s parent) is planning to acquire soon. Ampere has struggled to gain significant market share against Intel and AMD in the server sector, but things could shift once Arm steps in.

A New Major Client

Moreover, Arm has secured a significant client for the aforementioned chip: Meta. This chip could also be utilized in Sir Jony Ive’s secretive device. This indicates that Arm might be developing a low-power chip aimed at consumer gadgets as well. However, this scenario could lead to serious conflicts of interest, given that many companies, such as Qualcomm, Apple, and recently Intel, rely on Arm’s intellectual property.

The report indicates that production might be outsourced to TSMC, although there’s a strong possibility that Intel will play a role as well since Arm mentioned it would utilize Intel’s 18A node for a mobile chip. If this chip actually debuts this year, it’s likely that the design has already been finalized. It’s probable that the first version will be produced on an older TSMC node like N3 or N4.

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