Arm Unveils Next-Gen AI Chips at Computex 2024

Earlier this month at Computex 2024 in Taiwan, Arm made headlines with significant updates to its CPU and GPU intellectual property (IP), highlighting a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI). This year’s announcements were particularly noteworthy, as they mark a shift in focus from the company’s traditional role in the smartphone sector to a more pronounced presence in the PC ecosystem. Arm, already a major player in the smartphone market, showcased its innovation through collaboration with Microsoft and Qualcomm for the newly launched Copilot+ PCs. Notably, while Copilot+ PCs utilize Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series processors based on Arm’s instruction set, they do not incorporate Arm’s CPU or GPU design IP.

The semiconductor industry is currently engaged in a competitive landscape, with various chip manufacturers vying against Apple, which has driven significant growth in unit shipments in the U.S. Apple’s dominance with its A-Series and M-Series chips presents a substantial challenge to other PC and smartphone makers. Despite being an Arm licensee and a founding member of Arm, Apple remains a key competitor that Arm and its partners are eager to challenge.

In addition to this competition, there is a growing focus on AI relevance. Arm is transitioning from its TCS platform, known for its tight integration of Arm’s IP, to the more advanced CCS platform, which offers enhanced performance and efficiency. This shift underscores Arm’s commitment to staying ahead in the evolving AI market.

Arm’s Cortex CPUs are central to its IP and have played a crucial role in the company’s success. The current Arm instruction set architecture (ISA) version 9.2 is foundational to many recent Arm processors, including Apple’s M4. Arm’s CPU designs, which utilize the v. 9.2 ISA, allow partners to integrate these cores into their own systems-on-chip (SoCs), leading to notable advancements in smartphone and PC performance. Arm’s latest CPU offerings include the Cortex-X925, Cortex-A725, and Cortex-A520.

These new Cortex cores build upon last year’s introduction of the Arm v. 9.2 ISA, which enhanced security and performance. The new generation, optimized for 3nm process nodes, is expected to feature in flagship SoCs launching later this year and into 2025. Last year’s CPU cores powered MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300 chip, which excelled in multicore performance compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon devices, thanks to its all-big core design. This trend of high-performing cores is anticipated to continue with the new generation.

Arm’s CPU hierarchy includes the X series, A700 class, and A500 class cores. These are managed by the DynamIQ Shared Unit (DSU), which helps in managing CPU clusters, power consumption, and bandwidth. The new X925 core promises up to 36% faster peak performance compared to last year’s top Android devices. Additionally, AI performance has seen a 172% improvement over the previous TCS23 platform, marking the X925 as a significant advancement in the Cortex-X series.

The A725, part of the A700 family, is designed for efficiency and sustained performance, boasting 25% better power efficiency and 35% improved performance efficiency over the A720. The A520 low-power cores have also been refreshed, offering an additional 15% power savings compared to last year’s model.

Arm believes that its CPUs are well-suited for AI tasks, challenging the current emphasis on NPUs (Neural Processing Units). The X925 CPU is claimed to be 46% faster than the previous X4, positioning it competitively against NPUs and GPUs. Arm’s CSS for Client platform enhances integration between hardware and software, optimizing performance for specific process nodes and providing a reference software stack for Android. CSS promises 30% better graphics performance, 33% faster app launch speeds, up to 46% improved AI performance, and 60% better web browsing speeds compared to the previous TCS23 platform.

Arm also introduced its latest Immortalis GPUs at Computex 2024. The Immortalis G925, a 14-core design, offers significant improvements over the previous generation, including up to 50% better AI performance and up to 72% better gaming performance in titles like Call of Duty Mobile. The G925’s configuration supports up to 24 cores and 50% more shader cores, with enhancements in ray tracing for configurations with at least 10 cores. The Mali G725 and G625 families cater to lower-core designs, with the G725 featuring six to nine cores and the G625 covering implementations with five or fewer cores.

Arm is poised for growth in the server and PC markets, segments where it previously had minimal presence. With ongoing collaborations and innovations, such as those seen with Copilot+ PCs, Arm aims to expand its influence. Anticipation is high for the upcoming releases from partners like MediaTek, potentially early next year. Arm’s advancements signal a competitive future against industry giants like Apple, Intel, and AMD, who are also making strides in low-power, high-performance platforms. As Arm continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how it shapes the PC and semiconductor landscape in the coming years.