SoftBank Group and Intel have been in talks in recent months about developing artificial intelligence chips, the Financial Times reported today.
The talks, which have since fallen apart, are believed to have been part of a multibillion-dollar effort by SoftBank to challenge Nvidia in the AI accelerator market. The Tokyo-based conglomerate reportedly wants to not only manufacture AI chips, but also develop the software that runs them, and also help power customers' data centers.
SoftBank is a major shareholder in Arm Holdings plc, the world's largest provider of central processing unit designs. Arm's latest CPU blueprints include optimizations that can run AI models significantly faster than previous silicon. However, the company has yet to produce a dedicated AI processor with capabilities compatible with Nvidia's graphics processing unit.
SoftBank expanded its presence in the chip market last July with the acquisition of venture capital-backed semiconductor startup Graphcore Ltd., which developed an AI chip called IPU Bow and positioned it as a direct alternative to Nvidia GPUs. SoftBank's plans to enter the AI accelerator market include combining Arm processor design with Graphcore's “chip productionization” expertise, according to the Financial Times.
SoftBank was reportedly considering partnering with Intel to manufacture AI chips. The talks are believed to have fallen apart because the chipmaker was unable to meet the project's “volume and speed” requirements. It is unclear whether speed refers to the chip's capabilities or the time it took Intel to bring to market the first processor developed by SoftBank.
SoftBank is also in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to manufacture chips. But the two companies have reportedly yet to sign a supply agreement, and the delays could be related to limited capacity at TMSC's factories. SoftBank could resume talks with Intel if it has trouble finding another manufacturing partner, according to Financial Times sources.
With its acquisition of Graphcore, SoftBank gained access to a chip technology known as wafer-on-wafer stacking, which allows a silicon module with power management components to be placed directly on top of an AI processor. Using the power stored in the power management module, the processor can operate at a faster frequency than usual.
SoftBank may be looking to use the technology to give its planned chips an edge over Nvidia's graphics cards, with reports today saying the first prototype of the company's AI processor could be ready within the next few months.
The development could be led by an AI chip design business that Arm is rumored to be setting up. In May, Nikkei Asia reported that the unit planned to build a prototype machine learning accelerator by spring 2025. At the time, executives were reportedly considering spinning off the AI chip design business and moving it under SoftBank.
The chips it plans to develop will compete not only with Nvidia's graphics cards, but also with Intel's growing lineup of machine learning accelerators, the latest of which debuted earlier this year as a processor called Gaudi 3. Aimed at data centers, the chip features two core clusters, each optimized for a different set of machine learning workloads.
Intel is set to launch a more advanced AI processor next year, codenamed “Falcon Shores.” The chip was originally planned to combine GPU and CPU circuitry into a single package, but it's thought the company may have since revised the design. Falcon Shores is expected to consume 1,500 watts of power, significantly more than Nvidia's fastest datacenter chips.
Image: Graphcore
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