Nvidia Corp is using Arm Holdings PLC technology to develop chips that would challenge Intel Corp processors in PCs, ratcheting up competition between the two semiconductor makers, people familiar with the situation said.
Nvidia, whose artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator chips already dominate that market, is attempting to make central processing units (CPUs) for PCs, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
The CPUs would support Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and go on sale as soon as 2025.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Intel’s main rival in PCs, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), is also working on Arm-based processors, according to the people. AMD currently licenses Intel’s technology.
It is not the first attempt to use Arm technology — common on smartphones — to crack the PC processor industry. A number of companies have made a run at traditional PC processors over the years with little impact.
Windows RT, which Microsoft announced in 2011 at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, was designed to run on Arm designs. The first of Microsoft’s Surface devices was based on that operating system and used an Nvidia Tegra chip, but the those early models did not catch on with consumers.
Apple Inc has provided a more recent model for how to replace Intel technology. The company switched from using Intel processors in its Mac computers with in-house designs that are based on Arm’s standards. It has credited the change with boosting Mac sales.
Qualcomm Inc, the biggest maker of phone chips, is the only other maker of Arm-based chips for Windows-based PCs.
Representatives of AMD, Arm and Nvidia declined to comment.
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