Arm Reportedly Developing Gaming GPUs to Challenge Nvidia, AMD, and Intel

ARM Reportedly Developing Consumer Gaming GPUs, Competing Against NVIDIA, AMD, & Intel

ARM is developing its very own dedicated gaming GPU lineup, which is said to compete directly with Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. ARM Looks To Step Into A Market Dominated By NVIDIA & AMD, Likely Releasing A GPU Architecture For Both AI & Gaming Workloads This development is certainly huge for the markets, given that we haven't seen a new competitor disrupting the market share established by AMD and NVIDIA. The news comes from The Globes, citing sources familiar with the matter. It is disclosed that ARM has employed one hundred different chip and software development engineers at a facility in Israel to oversee the new project, but details are still unclear about ARM's ambitions here or whether the company wants to have a take on the discrete gaming GPU segment. UK chip giant ARM is developing a graphics processor unit (GPU) in Israel that will compete with Nvidia and Intel, sources familiar with the matter have told "Globes." ARM is estimated to be employing about 100 chip and software development engineers, in its global graphics processing group at its development center in Ra'anana. At this stage, ARM is reportedly engaged in graphic processing for the video game market, and at the same time - as was the case with with Nvidia - the technology could also be used for AI processing, if and when ARM decides to fully enter the field. via Globes ARM isn't entirely new in the gaming GPU space since the firm has dedicated GPU architectures, such as Mali and the flagship Immortalis, which are utilized by the mobile segment. Given that the chip designer plans to compete in the laptop and desktop segment, they could be on their way to releasing discrete GPU models as a part of business expansion. ARM is mainly responsible for providing chip IPs, not the actual product itself, so we may see the firm operate similarly to its potential competitors like NVIDIA and AMD. Interestingly, ARM has been in the chip business for quite some time now, potentially capturing a decent portion of the industry. However, the firm is determined to expand itself into new horizons, and one such example is the integration of the architecture in Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite AI PC SoCs. Apart from this, it was rumored that ARM is developing client-based processors in collaboration with NVIDIA, so there's a lot of optimism about the future of ARM's business. The possibility of ARM's discrete gaming GPU lineup remains slim. Given that the company is currently dedicated to capitalizing on the AI hype, getting into the consumer GPU segment doesn't make sense as a business for now. However, there is a void to be filled in the markets, which Intel tried to fill through its Arc GPUs but unfortunately failed to fill. ARM can potentially shock us all, but that would mean completely reworking its business model.

Arm reportedly developing gaming GPU in Israel to compete with Nvidia and Intel

Arm, known for building the architecture behind many SoCs, including Qualcomm and Apple chips, is reportedly building a GPU to compete against industry bulwarks Nvidia and Intel. The company is said to have a hundred chip and software developer engineers in its Israel office dedicated to the global graphics processing group working on the project. The Globes report says that GPU development is focused primarily on gaming. However, it also doesn't discount the application of such development in AI processing, should its research result in an actual product. We also don't know if it will be a discrete GPU, as the company said it does not comment on rumors or speculation. Whether it plans to launch a graphics card that would work with x86 and ARM processors or if it wants to build its own desktop and laptop SoC with a stronger integrated graphics solution, it makes sense for the company to create a GPU for PCs. This is especially true as it already builds the Immortalis flagship GPU and its more affordable Mali counterpart included in many SoCs. After all, even though these GPUs are primarily designed for smartphones and mobile devices, they have features that can compete against desktop chips, like Ray Tracing and Arm Accuracy Super Resolution (ASR) tech. Another possibility is that Arm is building the architecture for a discrete GPU that other companies could license, possibly for use with ARM processors designed for Windows-on-Arm. Currently, most major discrete GPUs only work with x86/x86-64 processors. While you could hack around to make an Intel Arc GPU work with an Arm Ampere system, it's not a straightforward hardware and driver installation and requires patience and lots and lots of work. With Qualcomm's Snapdragon X off to a good start and desktop form factors expected to arrive shortly, there might be a market for a discrete GPU specifically designed for the ARM architecture.

Arm reportedly spooling up major new GPU architecture to take on Nvidia

Arm is working on a new GPU design and has no less a target than Nvidia in its sights. That's quite the claim, but it's exactly what Israeli business website Globes is reporting. Arm is said to be employing a team of up to 100 GPU engineers at its development center in Ra'anana, Israel. But what's not clear is what kind of graphics architecture they've been tasked to build, with the two obvious options being aimed at video rendering or AI training and inferencing. Arm already has several GPU designs on its shelves, including the Mali and Immortalis series, which are typically offered as IP that chip makers can licence. Arm itself isn't in the business of making and selling GPUs. That applies to CPUs, too, which are the mainstay of its chip-design licensing business. However, the Mali and Immortalis series are fairly traditional graphics units that are actually intended to process, well, graphics. That's a whole different ball game from building a GPU to process AI. Granted, Nvidia's AI and gaming GPU architectures are developed in tandem and have shared elements. But there's a whole world of difference between a $40,000 Nvida AI chip and even its priciest desktop graphics cards. Moreover, while Arm has form when it comes to both graphics processing and selling SoCs that include hardware for that specific job, it has no track record in either AI or selling discrete GPUs. Unfortunately, the Globes story provides few insights into to any of the details. However, it does claim that the Ra'anana facility has been working with Israeli startup NeuReality on its new SR1 hardware for accelerating AI inferencing, which is said to be 90% cheaper than doing the same job with Nvidia GPUs. All of which means it's hard to draw any firm conclusions. With that in mind, we'd suggest that it's pretty unlikely Arm's plan involves discrete gaming graphics cards. There's far, far more money to be made in cranking out an alternative to Nvidia's all-conquering AI hardware. On the other hand, those overlaps between graphics and AI acceleration remain. It definitely wouldn't be a complete surprise to see Arm's investments in latter spill over into benefits for gaming graphics. What's more, with Qualcomm having launched what you might call the first really serious attempt to get an Arm CPU into the PC with the Snapdragon X series, what Arm does in graphics has the potential to be that little bit more relevant to PC gaming and especially mobile gaming. In short, don't go expecting to buy an Arm graphics card next year. But you might just be playing PC games on an all-Arm handheld somewhere down the road.