Nvidia Corp. is entering the PC market with a new chip aimed at loosening the stranglehold of Intel Corp. technology in that arena and modernizing the machines for the AI era.
Starting this fall, Nvidia’s new RTX Spark Superchip will debut in laptop and desktop computers from leading PC brands including Dell Technologies Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd., Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The product is a combination of microprocessor and graphics chip, built with help from Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc., that will run Microsoft Corp.’s Windows for Arm operating system.
Now a dominant player in data centers, Nvidia is taking another run at the personal computer processor market after being part of an effort that fizzled out more than a decade ago. This time, it’s doing so from a position of strength, with the ability to devote more resources to the effort than any incumbent or would-be rival, such as Qualcomm Inc. with its line of Snapdragon products for PCs. For Nvidia, the venture also adds to efforts to keep its central role at the heart of all AI development and use.
Intel’s stock fell 4.6% to $109.37 at 9:33 a.m. in New York. Nvidia’s shares gained about 3.7%. Shares in Arm Holdings Plc, whose technology will get a boost from Nvidia’s backing, jumped 14%. MediaTek stock climbed more than 5% in Taipei.
Nvidia’s isn’t just a rival to Intel. It’s an investor. Nvidia agreed in September to put $5 billion into Intel as part of a broader partnership to co-develop chips for PCs and data centers. Nvidia agreed at the time to buy Intel shares at $23.28 per share. Intel said it would use Nvidia’s graphics technology in upcoming PC chips and also provide its processors for data center products built around Nvidia hardware.
Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia said the first new laptops built with RTX Spark will target the premium segment and will be geared to eliminate the compromises of the competition. The efficiency of the chip means that PC makers will be able to offer extremely powerful machines that are still thin and light. Subsequent versions of the technology will allow for a broader spectrum of prices as well, Nvidia said.
In the past, a deeper foray into the PC market would have represented a major expansion of scope and opportunity for Nvidia. But now, its data center chip lineup delivers revenue that dwarfs the combined sales of its nearest rivals. Nvidia’s sales in its most recent quarter were roughly equal to Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s annual totals for last year.
Still, investors who’ve bid up Nvidia’s shares on the back of the rise of AI may welcome its growing presence among products that deliver the technology to users. Despite posting growth that eclipses other chip makers, Nvidia’s stock has lagged the performance of the benchmark Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index this year. On Monday, Jensen called the Spark the start of a PC arena shakeup that may eventually rival the advent of the smartphone.
“The number of customers, the number of partners that are so excited to bring RTX to market is just incredible,” Huang said in Taipei.
The RTX Superchip will feature a central processing unit that has up to 20 computing cores and a Blackwell-generation graphics processor with 6,144 cores. The two elements will share built-in memory, making them better able to handle large AI models and high-end games. They’ll use Nvidia’s NVLink interface to communicate, bringing a slice of data center technology to personal computers. The chip design will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., using that company’s 3N process technology.
Nvidia said it has worked with Microsoft for years to prepare the new devices and ensure software support that will make the use of Arm Holdings tech finally take hold in the Windows PC world. Microsoft and Qualcomm have together promoted similar PCs for over a year, though with limited impact. Outside of Apple Inc.’s Mac lineup, most PCs use processors made by Intel or AMD. Arm’s advantage over those incumbents is much better power efficiency, but it’s lagged in in software compatibility.
New Nvidia-based machinery will be better able to cope with AI models and functionality in commonly used software. For example, Adobe Inc.’s Photoshop is being reworked to better respond to AI-based prompts to generate image and video content. The new devices will also boost gaming capabilities, allowing laptops to handle high-end titles, Nvidia said.
In general, Nvidia-based PCs will be able to run large AI models securely, giving users easily implementable controls on what data and software are accessed. Such safeguards will speed up the transformation of PCs into personal assistants that do more than respond to user input. Common activities such as searching email or more complex tasks such as for example identifying and then fixing bugs in a website will become much easier, according to Nvidia.
The company declined to give performance comparisons to existing and planned devices based on competitor technology. That information will be offered up when the new machines are ready to go on sale, Nvidia said. The company does not expect the current component supply constraints in the chip industry to impact availability.
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