Arm Reveals New Designs and Software Tools to Enhance Smartphone AI Capabilities
Arm introduced new chip designs and software tools on Wednesday, aiming to enhance smartphones’ ability to handle artificial intelligence (AI) tasks and accelerate their adoption.
Arm Holdings, renowned for powering smartphones and increasingly present in PCs and data centers due to its energy-efficient technology, unveiled new CPU designs optimized for AI work. These designs, along with new GPUs, are intended to bolster smartphones’ AI capabilities. Additionally, Arm will provide software tools to streamline the execution of AI code, such as chatbots, on Arm chips.
Significantly, Arm is altering its approach to product delivery. Instead of providing abstract designs, Arm collaborated with Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to offer blueprints of physical designs ready for manufacturing. This shift aims to expedite the time to market for chip companies.
Chris Bergey, Arm’s senior vice president and general manager of the client line of business, emphasized that Arm’s intention is not to compete with its customers but to assist them in reaching the market faster. Arm plans to focus on essential components of PC and smartphone chips, such as neural processing units (NPUs), which deliver optimal AI performance.
NPUs have become integral to chip functionality, with Microsoft noting that its latest AI features require NPUs. While Arm currently does not provide NPU technology for phones and PCs, Bergey stated that the company aims to offer more comprehensive designs, allowing chip manufacturers to integrate their NPUs seamlessly.