Nvidia reportedly working on ARM-based CPU chips

[Courtesy of Nvidia]

Nvidia, renowned for its dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market, is poised to make inroads into the PC chip market. According to Reuters on Monday, the U.S. GPU chip maker is actively developing CPU chips by leveraging the capabilities of ARM, a semiconductor design company. These chips are expected to hit the market as early as 2025.

The move to develop CPU chips is seen as a response to Microsoft’s pursuit of enhanced Windows performance. Reuters explains that Nvidia’s entry into the PC chip market is a reaction to the surge in Apple’s market share following the introduction of its proprietary semiconductor chips over the past three years, which posed a significant threat to the Windows ecosystem.

The CPU market was historically dominated by Intel, leveraging the x86 architecture for CPU production, commanding PC and server markets. According to Mercury Research, Intel has a 68.7 percent share of the CPU market, while AMD holds 31.3 percent. Intel’s revenue indicates the significance of CPU chips, accounting for $6.8 billion out of a total of $12.9 billion in the second-quarter sales this year.

Nvidia’s entry into the PC market is expected to intensify the competition within the U.S. semiconductor industry. Currently, both Intel and AMD, prominent players in the PC chip market, have made forays into AI chip development, while Nvidia, a dominant force in AI chips, is reciprocating the challenge by entering the PC market. Meanwhile, Qualcomm, a key mobile chip manufacturer, is also striving to enter the PC chip market. The motivations behind this competition among major U.S. tech firms are closely linked to Apple’s growing presence in the market.

Apple’s introduction of ARM-based chips in PCs resulted in an increase in Mac market share, reaching 18.9 percent in May 2023, which is a substantial 4 percent increase from a year ago. Apple’s achievement can be attributed to its M-series chips, which it has been developing and deploying across various devices since late 2020. By manufacturing its own chips, Apple has managed to reduce costs and enhance user experience. Reuters suggests that Microsoft is closely monitoring the efficiency of Apple’s ARM-based chips and shares a desire for similar performance.

Nonetheless, industry experts contend that even if Nvidia succeeds in developing CPU chips, expanding its market share in the short term may be challenging. Software developers have already been coding for Windows using Intel’s x86 architecture, making an immediate transition a complex endeavor.