Breaking news is coming, about Intel and SoftBank, Tech The End is giving you complete updates, Softbank scraps AI chip Production plans with Intel Co., the company’s finance team reported, after the partnership collapsed as the US chipmaker struggled to meet SoftBank’s needs. SoftBank has blamed the company for ending talks with Intel, claiming Intel was unable to meet its volume and speed demands, with the report saying SoftBank is now focusing on talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker. The talks failed ahead of Intel’s drastic cost-cutting plans, which included thousands of lay-offs in early August, the report added. Intel Co. and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
SoftBank Group Corporation and Intel Corporation have been in talks in recent months to develop an artificial intelligence chip. SoftBank is the majority shareholder in Arm Holdings plc, the world’s leading provider of central processing unit designs. Arm’s latest CPU blueprint includes optimizations that allow it to run artificial intelligence models significantly faster than previous silicon. The Tokyo-based group hopes to develop not just AI chips, but the software that powers them. Moreover, they intend to play a role in powering consumer data centers. Also, the company has yet to produce a dedicated AI processor with capabilities compatible with Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
Softbank scraps AI chip Production plans with Intel because In July 2024, SoftBank acquired venture-backed semiconductor startup Graphcore Ltd. Expanded its presence in the chip market through acquisitions. The latter company developed an AI chip called IPU Bow that was positioned as a direct alternative to Nvidia GPUs. According to fin. team, SoftBank’s plans to enter the AI accelerator market include “bringing a chip into production” with the expertise of Graphcore to arm processor designs. SoftBank has also held talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. about making its chips. However, the companies have reportedly not yet inked a supply agreement in a delay that may be connected to the limited capacity at TMSC’s fabs. The Financial Times’ sources said that SoftBank could restart the discussions with Intel if it struggles to find another manufacturing partner.
With the Graphcore acquisition, SoftBank acquired a chip technology called wafer-on-wafer stacking. This provides the ability to place silicon modules with power management components directly on top of AI processors. By using the electricity stored in the power management module, the processor can run at the fastest possible frequency.SoftBank may try to use the technology to give its planned chips an edge over Nvidia’s graphics cards. Development efforts may be led by an AI chip design business that Arm is rumored to be establishing. In May, Nikkei Asia reported that the unit was expected to build prototype machine learning accelerator by spring 2025. At the time, executives were reportedly weighing spinning off the AI chip design business to move it under the SoftBank corporate umbrella.The chips that the company plans to develop would compete with not only Nvidia graphics cards but also Intel’s growing lineup of machine learning accelerators. The latest addition to the lineup debuted earlier this year in the
In 2025, Intel plans to launch a more advanced AI processor codenamed Falcon Shores. The chip was originally set to combine GPU and CPU circuits in a single package, but it is believed that the company may have revised the design. Falcon Shores is expected to use 1500 watts of power, significantly more than Nvidia’s fastest data center chips.
In July2024, SoftBank expanded its semiconductor portfolio by acquiring British AI chip designer Graphcore. While the acquisition amount is unknown, the move is in line with SoftBank’s significant presence in the chip industry. The company already owns a majority stake in Arm, another British chip designer, which it bought in Year 2016 for $32 billion. Although Arm’s stock returned to the market last year, SoftBank retained its controlling interest.
What is AI chip?
AI chip meaning integrated circuit unit that is built out of a semiconductor and transistors. Transistors are semiconducting materials that are connected to an electronic circuit.
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