Reuters: Nvidia and AMD to make Arm processors for Windows PCs

Nvidia and AMD are working on Arm processors for use in Windows PCs. Insiders report this to the Reuters news agency. The companies may release these CPUs in 2025. Currently, Qualcomm has an exclusive agreement to make Arm chips for Windows.

Nvidia has ‘quietly’ started designing its processor, which uses the Arm architecture and can run Windows, sources tell Reuters. AMD does the same. According to Reuters, those plans are part of Microsoft’s effort to help chip companies make Arm processors for Windows. The tech giant wants to compete better with Apple’s Arm socks. Both Nvidia and AMD can release the processors as early as 2025. No more concrete details or specifications of the chips are known yet. Spokespeople for AMD, Arm, Microsoft and Nvidia did not respond to questions from Reuters.

Microsoft has been working with Qualcomm on Arm Socs for Windows since 2016. Qualcomm has an exclusive agreement to make Arm Socs for Windows until 2024. That was already evident from rumors and is again endorsed by Reuters sources. Qualcomm is expected to introduce new Snapdragon Socs for Windows PCs on Tuesday evening, which for the first time will be based on Nuvia’s self-designed Arm cores. Microsoft will participate in that presentation, Reuters says.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Nvidia has worked on Arm chips. The company already offers Arm-based Tegra socks. These are used in the Nintendo Switch and in tablets, including Microsoft’s Surface RT from 2012. Earlier this year, Nvidia released its Grace data center processor with Arm Neoverse cores. Nvidia wanted to acquire Arm for $40 billion, but decided against it last year due to competition concerns from market regulators.

AMD, which until now has mainly competed with Intel in the field of x86 CPUs, previously worked on K12. That would be a self-designed Arm microarchitecture for servers, but AMD scrapped those plans. Microsoft is also rumored to be working on its own Arm chips. These would initially be intended for servers, but may also come to Surface devices.

The SQ1 SoC that Qualcomm developed together with Microsoft for Surface devices. Source: Microsoft