AMD and Nvidia comming to Windows PC Market with Arm Processors?
Qualcomm holds an exclusive deal to provide Arm processors for Windows PCs, but a recent report suggests that both Nvidia and AMD are preparing to enter the market once Qualcomm’s exclusivity agreement concludes in 2024. According to Reuters, both chip companies are preparing Arm processors for Windows PCs, although neither AMD nor Nvidia has officially confirmed this information.
This development is on the verge of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui, where Qualcomm is expected to reveal more details about its Snapdragon Elite platform and the Oryon processor. The Snapdragon platform relies on Arm chips, and the integration of Windows on these chips involves a combination of native and emulated code. This process has been evolving over several years now.
Nvidia was an early participant in the Arm processor domain, supplying the Arm chip for the early Microsoft Surface RT. However, Microsoft decided to move towards X86 chips from Intel and AMD over time. While Nvidia continued Arm processor development, it focused on applications outside Windows PCs, such as the “Grace Hopper” super chip designed for AI and high-performance data center tasks.
AMD has also been active in the Arm architecture, producing small microcontrollers and announcing a 64-bit Arm chip for servers named “Seattle” back in 2013.
It’s worth saying that the report speculates that the next year could be focused on Arm chips from both Nvidia and AMD, showing a potential shift in the field that is dominated by Qualcomm’s exclusiveness in the Windows PC market.
