Nvidia Expands into PC Market, Designs CPUs to Compete with Intel
Santa Clara, California – In a move that could shake up the PC industry, Nvidia is reportedly designing central processing units (CPUs) to compete with Intel, according to sources familiar with the matter. Nvidia, known for dominating the market for artificial intelligence computing chips, is now setting its sights on Intel’s stronghold in the personal computer market.
The company’s new pursuit is part of Microsoft’s effort to help chip companies build Arm-based processors for Windows PCs. This comes as Apple has nearly doubled its market share since releasing its own Arm-based chips for its Mac computers.
Not only is Nvidia entering the PC chip market, but Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also has plans to develop chips for PCs using Arm technology. According to the sources, both Nvidia and AMD could be selling PC chips as early as 2025. Qualcomm, on the other hand, has been producing Arm-based chips for laptops since 2016.
Shares of Nvidia surged 3.84% after the news, while Intel’s shares went down by 3.06%. Arm’s shares also experienced a boost, closing up by 4.89%.
The push into the PC market from Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm could challenge Intel’s long-standing dominance and put pressure on the company. Apple’s custom chips have proven to offer better battery life and performance, prompting other companies to follow suit.
Microsoft, for example, is looking to attain similar performance with AI processing, as observed in Apple’s Arm-based chips. The company has been encouraging chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD to integrate advanced AI features in their CPUs to enhance the Windows experience. However, there are challenges in transitioning from the x86 computing architecture used by Intel and AMD to Arm-based designs.
While it remains to be seen if Microsoft and the chip firms will succeed in their plans, the company’s move away from dependence on a single vendor like Intel is a strategic one.
Microsoft has been working with Qualcomm since 2016 to develop Windows-compatible chips, and the exclusivity arrangement with Qualcomm is set to expire in 2024. After that, Microsoft has encouraged other chipmakers to enter the market.
“It’s clear Microsoft doesn’t want to be dependent on Intel again, they don’t want to be dependent on a single vendor,” said Jay Goldberg, CEO of D2D Advisory.
Intel, however, is not sitting idly by. The company has been incorporating AI features into its chips and recently showcased a laptop running features similar to ChatGPT directly on the device.
Neither Intel nor AMD immediately responded to requests for comment.
As the landscape of the PC market continues to evolve, competition among chipmakers is heating up. With Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm vying for a piece of the market, the future of PC computing could be drastically different in the coming years.
Reporting by Stephen Nellis and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; editing by Kenneth Li and Josie Kao
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