HongShan Expands into Europe and North Asia Amid Slowing China Opportunities
Chinese investment firm HongShan aggressively expands into Europe and North Asia, citing limited options in China and pressure from limited partners to deploy capital.
Nvidia's Jensen Huang Hints at Desktop CPU Plans, Fuels Speculation on Arm-Based Chip
Riley King
January 08, 2025
·
2 min read
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has sparked speculation about the company's plans for its Arm-based CPU, co-developed with MediaTek, after hinting at "bigger plans" for the chip during an investor presentation at CES 2025.
The Arm-based CPU in question is part of the GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, which powers Nvidia's recently unveiled Project Digits AI supercomputer. While Project Digits itself is a niche product aimed at AI developers, the CPU's potential for broader applications has fueled rumors of a potential desktop CPU launch in 2025.
Huang's comments have added fuel to the fire, with the CEO stating, "You know, obviously we have plans," but refusing to elaborate further. This has led to speculation about whether Nvidia will launch its own desktop CPU, potentially challenging Qualcomm's dominance in the Arm-based CPU market for Windows PCs.
It's worth noting that MediaTek, Nvidia's co-developer on the project, may also bring the CPU to market independently. As Huang pointed out, "Now they could provide that to us, and they could keep that for themselves and serve the market. And so it was a great win-win."
Rumors of Nvidia's consumer CPU ambitions have been circulating since October 2023, when Reuters reported that the company, alongside rival AMD, was working on Arm-based chips to launch in 2025. If true, this could mark a significant shift in the CPU market, potentially challenging Intel and AMD's x86 systems.
The success of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processors, which have provided performance and power efficiency comparable to Apple's MacBooks, has put pressure on Intel and AMD's x86 systems. With increased competition from Nvidia and others, 2025 could be a pivotal year in the battle between x86 and Arm-based CPUs.
While Nvidia's plans for its Arm-based CPU remain unclear, one thing is certain – the CPU market is set to become increasingly competitive in 2025. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Nvidia's plans unfold and what implications this may have for the broader tech landscape.
