- IBM (NYSE:IBM) announces creating the world's first 2nm node chip, which is projected to offer 45% higher performance or 75% lower energy than the current most advanced 7nm node chips.
- The company says the potential benefits include quadrupling cell phone battery life, cutting the carbon footprint of data centers, "drastically" speeding up laptop functions, and providing faster object detection and reaction time for autonomous vehicles.
- The chip was designed at IBM's research center in Albany, New York. Potential release details weren't announced at this time.
- "The IBM innovation reflected in this new 2 nm chip is essential to the entire semiconductor and IT industry," says Darío Gil, SVP and Director of IBM Research. "It is the product of IBM's approach of taking on hard tech challenges and a demonstration of how breakthroughs can result from sustained investments and a collaborative R&D ecosystem approach."
- Importantly, IBM doesn't have a foundry of its own to mass produce the chips, having sold that business to GlobalFoundries back in 2014 though the two remain partners on server chips until at least 2025. IBM also has foundry relationships with Samsung (OTC:SSNNF,OTC:SSNLF) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).
- Related: Last month, reports suggested GlobalFoundries is mulling a U.S. IPO at a $20B valuation.