These two days, the chip field has set off a new storm。

According to media reports, Nvidia has quietly launched the design of the central processing unit (CPU) of the personal computer (PC), which will run Microsoft's Windows operating system。

It is worth noting that Nvidia will use Arm technology to develop the chip.。Similarly, AMD is currently developing Arm-based processors.。People familiar with the matter said that Nvidia and AMD may launch their respective PC chips to the market as soon as 2025.。

PC chip manufacturing has long been dominated by Intel。Intel shares fell after news of Nvidia and AMD's foray into the space was released。Intel shares closed down more than 3% on Monday (October 23, local time)。On the other side, Nvidia shares closed up 3.84%, AMD shares close up 4.89%。

This is not the first time Nvidia has wanted to develop its own PC processor.。Nvidia entered the market more than a decade ago under former executive Rene Haas, who now runs Arm.。In 2011, Microsoft announced at CES that Windows RT was also running on Arm's design.。Microsoft's first Surface device is based on the operating system and uses Nvidia's Tegra chip。But these early models were cold in the market and did not attract much attention.。

Neither NVIDIA nor AMD are Intel's first challengers。Over the years, many companies have tried to enter the PC processor field, but have failed to shake Intel's dominance。

Counting the years, among the companies that have really threatened Intel is Apple。Three years ago, Apple stopped using Intel processors in its Macs and instead used in-house self-developed chips based on Arm technology.。Its self-developed chips provide longer battery life and faster performance for the Mac computer family, reaching a level not yet achieved by Intel processors。According to preliminary data from research firm IDC in the third quarter, Apple's Mac computer line has almost doubled its market share since it was equipped with its own chips.。

Behind the PC chip market - Microsoft

In addition to Apple, Qualcomm has been making chips for Windows laptops since 2016。Qualcomm's entry into PC chips is related to Microsoft。In 2016, Microsoft commissioned Qualcomm to spearhead efforts to migrate the Windows operating system to Arm's underlying processor architecture, which has long powered smartphones and their small batteries.。Since then, Qualcomm has been granted exclusive rights to produce chips for Windows laptops.。

But a recent source revealed that Qualcomm and Microsoft's exclusive agreement on Windows chip design will expire in 2024, and Microsoft seems willing to reach out to more partners, not just Qualcomm.。Microsoft's idea has always been simple, that is, do not want to rely on a single chip supplier, Qualcomm, earlier Intel is the same。

"Microsoft learned from the 1990s that they don't want to rely on Intel again, they don't want to rely on a single vendor.。Jay Goldberg, CEO of D2D Advisory, a consulting firm, said, "If Arm really succeeds in the PC (chip) space, they (referring to Microsoft) will never let Qualcomm be the only supplier."。"

Because Microsoft, like most of the tech industry, is betting its future on AI-related technologies, Microsoft has been encouraging chip makers to build advanced AI capabilities into the CPUs they are designing.。Microsoft launched the intelligent office assistant Copilot this year and is built into many Windows software。The company expects software such as Copilot, which has the blessing of artificial intelligence, to become an increasingly important part of the future use of Windows.。

However, these programs implemented by Microsoft and other chipmakers are not guaranteed to be successful。First, in order to incorporate more AI technology into chip manufacturing, Nvidia, AMD and other chip manufacturers need to invest more chip resources to do so.。Second, software developers have spent decades and billions of dollars writing code for Windows that runs on the x86 computing architecture used by both Intel and AMD.。Computer code built for x86 chips will not automatically run on Arm-based designs, and this transition process will be more challenging。

On the other hand, Intel is not sitting still。Led by CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel has been working to strengthen its technological edge in order to retain its market dominance.。

In the case of the global PC market malaise, the arrival of the AI wave has brought new hope to the PC industry。At the "Intel ON Technology Innovation Summit" in September this year, Gelsinger announced the launch of the "AI PC Acceleration Program."。Intel said it will officially release Intel Core Ultra processors for the next generation of AI (artificial intelligence) PCs on December 14 this year.。At the same time, under the "AI PC Acceleration Program," Intel plans to integrate AI into more than 100 million PCs by 2025。Michelle Johnston Holthaus, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's client computing division, said Intel will actively promote industry connectivity and innovation, and catalyze more PC use cases and experiences。

Despite Intel's new passion for development under the AI opportunity, the entry of large chipmakers such as Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm into the PC chip space is bound to put unprecedented pressure on Intel。Whether Intel can hold the "leading throne" in the PC chip market is still unknown.。