Cadence today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Arm to acquire Arm's Artisan foundation IP business, consisting of standard cell libraries, memory compilers, and general-purpose I/Os (GPIOs) optimized for advanced process nodes at the leading foundries. The transaction will augment Cadence's expanding design IP offerings, anchored by a leading portfolio of protocol and interface IP, memory interface IP, SerDes IP at the most advanced nodes, and embedded security IP from the pending Secure-IC acquisition.

By increasing its footprint in SoC designs, Cadence is reinforcing its commitment to continuously accelerate customers' time to market and to optimize their cost, power and performance on the world's leading foundry processes. Cadence will acquire the Arm Artisan foundation IP business through an asset purchase agreement with a concurrent technology license agreement, to be signed at closing and subject to any existing rights. As part of the transaction, Cadence will acquire a highly talented and experienced engineering team that is well respected in the industry and can help accelerate development of both related and new IP products.

Qualcomm aims to boost the performance of its Windows‑on‑Arm PC chips by about 18-22% percent with the next‑generation Snapdragon X2 processors. That estimate comes from Focused Digital, a well‑known Chinese blogger often leaks supply‑chain details. He says these new Snapdragon X2 chips will hit boost clocks of around 4.40 GHz, which is up from the 4.0 to 4.30 GHz range we see on today's Snapdragon X Elite models. Currently, those Elite chips use Oryon cores built on the TSMC 4 nm‑class N4P process. They run between 3.0 and 3.80 GHz at base and can turbo up to 4.30 GHz. So, simply cranking the top speed up another 100 MHz could explain a chunk of that performance jump. Beyond clocks, Qualcomm is probably squeezing more efficiency out of its Oryon V3 microarchitecture too, though we don't have details yet.

We also don't know exactly which process node Qualcomm will pick. They could stick with a refined 4 nm variant or switch to 3 nm later on. Either way, a roughly 20 percent improvement aligns with what you'd expect from a new generation of chips due in 2025. Another rumor floating around is that the X2 Elite series will jump from 12 to 18 cores, giving the processors more parallel horsepower. Internal test rigs reportedly pair these chips with up to 48 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1 TB of NVMe storage. Qualcomm rolled out its first Snapdragon X Elite processors in mid‑2024 and began testing the SC8480XP prototype in September 2024. If these performance figures hold up, the new Snapdragon X2 lineup could close the gap on x86 competitors and set Qualcomm up nicely for competing in stronger with a push in the PC segment by 2026.

MediaTek today announced the Dimensity 9400+ SoC, the latest addition to MediaTek's Dimensity flagship chipset family. Providing exceptional Generative and agentic AI capabilities as well as other performance enhancements, the Dimensity 9400+ supports the latest Large Language Models (LLM) while sustaining a super power-efficient design. The Dimensity 9400+ features an All Big Core design, integrating one Arm Cortex-X925 core operating up to 3.73 GHz, combined with 3x Cortex-X4 and 4x Cortex-A720 cores. This powerful configuration accelerates single and multithreaded performance for top-tier Android UX experiences.

"The MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ will make it easier to deliver innovative, personalized AI experiences on-device, combined with enhanced overall performance to ensure your device can handle all tasks with ease," said JC Hsu, Corporate Senior Vice President at MediaTek. "We are working closely with developers and manufacturers to continue building a robust ecosystem of AI applications and other features that will bring a number of speed and privacy benefits to consumers."

According to reports from last year, Xiaomi was expected to unveil an oft-rumored proprietary mobile chipset design at some point in 2025. By October 2024, the Chinese technology giant allegedly reached the tape-out phase of its first 3 nm SoC—at the time, insiders posited that Xiaomi was seeking a manufacturing partner. Months earlier, a prototype design was linked to TSMC's 4 nm "N4P" node process—this rumor raised many smartphone watchdog eyebrows. Unlike many other Chinese firms, Xiaomi was reportedly allowed to select a fairly advanced manufacturing process at Taiwan's premier foundry service. In a past weekend news article, Wccftech outlined interesting circumstances: "(US) export controls have yet to affect Xiaomi, which is supposedly on track to launch its first in-house chipset later this year. However, while we reported last year that the company was scheduled to unveil its custom 3 nm SoC in 2025, we were disappointed to learn just the specifications of this version that will utilize TSMC's 'N4P' process. According to more details, this silicon will not sport any homegrown cores like Qualcomm has adopted for the Snapdragon 8 Elite."

Late last week, Jukanlosreve highlighted another leaker's prediction—regarding the technological foundations of Xiaomi's mystery flagship mobile processor. Fixed Focus Digital's Weibo post mentioned the "N4P" node, as well the utilization of current generation Arm Cortex-X925, Cortex-A725 and Cortex-A520 units. A speculated Imagination Technologies "IMG DXT 72-2304" integrated graphics solution is touted to outperform Qualcomm's Adreno 740 iGPU; as featured in their Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (2022) SoC. As highlighted by Wccftech's report, one of the publication's associates has deemed Fixed Focus Digital to be an unreliable source of inside track info. In response to Jukanlosreve's tweeted question, Mochamad Farido Fanani opined: "that's right, how does Xiaomi use N4P in its new chipset? But this guy always guesses blindly." Older leaks—based on "N4P" rumors—projected performance levels roughly on par with Qualcomm's first generation Snapdragon 8 chip. This model was introduced at the tail end of 2021.

RiVAI Technologies, a Shenzhen-based semiconductor firm founded in 2018, unveiled this first fully domestic high-performance RISC-V server processor designed for compute-intensive applications. The Lingyu CPU features 32 general-purpose computing cores working alongside eight specialized intelligent computing cores (LPUs) in a heterogeneous "one-core, dual architecture" design. It aims for performance comparable to current x86 server processors, with the chip implementing optimized data pathways and enhanced pipelining mechanisms to maintain high clock frequencies under computational load. The architecture specifically targets maximum throughput for parallel processing workloads typical in data center environments. The chip aims to serve HPC clusters, all-flash storage arrays, and AI large language model inference operations.

Since its inception, RiVAI has accumulated 37 RISC-V-related patents and established partnerships with over 50 industry collaborators, including academic research relationships. Professor David Patterson, a RISC-V architecture pioneer, provides technical guidance to the company's development efforts. The processor's dual-architecture approach enables dynamic workload distribution between conventional processing tasks and specialized computational operations, potentially improving performance-per-watt metrics compared to traditional single-architecture designs. The Lingyu launch significantly advances China's semiconductor self-sufficiency strategy, potentially accelerating RISC-V ecosystem development while providing Chinese data centers with domestically engineered high-performance computing solutions, ultimately bypassing x86 and Arm solutions.

Microsoft is introducing live patch updates for Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2, that allow critical security fixes to be applied without interrupting users. These updates, known as hotpatches, are available for x64 devices running on AMD or Intel CPUs. Hotpatch updates are designed to install quickly and take effect immediately. Unlike standard monthly security updates that require a system restart, hotpatch updates provide instant protection against vulnerabilities while allowing users to continue working. This new process can reduce the number of restarts from twelve per year to just four. The update schedule follows a quarterly cycle. In January, April, July, and October, devices install a complete security update with new features and fixes that do require a restart. In the two months that follow each of these baseline updates, devices receive hotpatch updates that only include security fixes and do not need a reboot. This approach ensures that essential protections are applied quickly without impacting daily work.

To use hotpatch updates, organizations need a Microsoft subscription that includes Windows 11 Enterprise (or Windows 365 Enterprise) and devices running build 26100.2033 or later. These devices must also be managed using Microsoft Intune, where IT administrators can set up a hotpatch-enabled quality update policy. The Intune admin center automatically detects eligible devices and manages the update process. Hotpatch updates are currently available on Intel and AMD-powered devices. For Arm64 devices, hotpatch updates are still in public preview and require an extra configuration step: disabling CHPE support via a registry key or the upcoming DisableCHPE CSP. This update system represents a more efficient way to secure Windows client devices. By minimizing the need for restarts and delivering updates in a predictable, quarterly cycle, Microsoft aims to help organizations protect their systems with minimal disruption. We expect these live patches to trickle down to more Windows 11 versions, like Home and Pro editions.

When Microsoft first introduced the Copilot+ program alongside its renewed push for Windows-on-Arm laptops, the AI-powered assistant features were mostly limited to Snapdragon X-powered devices. In addition to the inclusion of these features on Intel and AMD systems, Microsoft is also announcing Voice Access, a new accessibility feature that will first launch on Qualcomm Snapdragon systems and make their way to Intel- and AMD-powered systems. These new updates come by way of the March 27 Preview update titled KB505365. However, there is still no mention of an AMD and Intel launch for the much maligned Recall feature that Microsoft was testing late last year and recalled due to privacy concerns.

According to the latest Windows Experience Blog post, users of AMD- and Intel-powered PCs will now be able to access features, like Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator more broadly across the line-up of Copilot+ PCs with Intel Core Ultra 200V and AMD Ryzen AI 300 CPUs. Live Captions is officially pitched as an accessibility feature, meanwhile Restyle Image and Image Creator are AI-powered image editing and generation features, and Cocreator lies somewhere in between as a text-to-image tool that is meant to augment drawing in Paint. Cocreator will be rolling out as of the announcement, and Restyle Image and Image Creator will be available in the Photos app on Intel and AMD systems. As for Voice Access, Microsoft claims that it will allow users to be more flexible with their language when using speech to navigate their PCs, as opposed to "learning complex steps, commands and syntax that voice access previously required" for voice navigation on PC. Voice Access will initially be limited to Snapdragon X PCs, but it will roll out to AMD and Intel Copilot+ PCs later this year.

Qualcomm has filed confidential complaints with antitrust regulators in the US, Europe, and South Korea, accusing Arm Holdings of leveraging its dominance to suppress competition in chip design. The filings, submitted to the US FTC European Commission and Korea Fair Trade Commission, alleged that Arm is restricting access to critical technologies and altering licensing terms to favor its own chip ventures, Bloomberg reported. Arm swiftly denied the claims, claimining that this is a distraction from a broader commercial dispute. "Arm remains focused on enhancing innovation, promoting competition, and respecting contractual rights and obligations," a company spokesperson told Tom's Hardware. "Any allegation of anti-competitive conduct is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Qualcomm to detract from the merits and expand the parties' ongoing commercial dispute for its own competitive benefit. Arm is confident that it will ultimately prevail in this dispute."

Qualcomm's filings argue that Arm is abandoning its longstanding open licensing model, which enabled a global ecosystem of chipmakers and software developers. Instead, the company claims Arm is prioritizing its compute subsystems (CSS)—pre-packaged chip designs for client devices and data centers—by limiting rivals' ability to license core technologies. Qualcomm also alleges Arm is withholding IP and violating agreements, particularly for clients developing custom silicon based on CSS designs. The complaints follow a recent legal victory for Qualcomm in a Delaware court, where a judge ruled the company did not breach licensing deals by acquiring chip startup Nuvia and using its IP in Snapdragon X processors for PCs. Arm, which plans to appeal the decision, insists Qualcomm's regulatory push is an escalation of the same dispute. According to Bloomberg's sources, Qualcomm's EU complaint—filed before the December court ruling—warned that Arm's post-2024 licensing changes would force chipmakers to obtain direct architecture licenses to use CSS designs, which could marginalize competitors. Arm confirmed it is preparing a formal response to the EU filing, while Qualcomm has reportedly engaged regulators in Washington and Seoul on similar concerns.

Keychron, the innovative leader in keyboard technology, announces that the UK Keychron is launching the UK-ISO layout versions of two groundbreaking models: the Keychron K2 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard and the Keychron K3 Max QMK/VIA Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard. Both keyboards offer innovative features and refined designs tailored for productivity and gaming enthusiasts.

The Keychron K2 HE redefines mechanical keyboard technology by integrating magnetic switches with customizable actuation points and dynamic rapid triggers, delivering unmatched precision and responsiveness. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $1M USD in 2024, the K2 HE is now available for direct purchase at Keychron UK, starting at £137.

Arm has officially unveiled its Accuracy Super Resolution (ASR) upscaling technology at Game Developer Conference 2025, delivering an open-source upscaling solution for mobile and low-power devices. Built upon AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2) framework, ASR promises up to 53% higher frame rates while reducing power consumption by 20% on devices utilizing the Immortalis-G720 GPU. This technology addresses a critical performance gap in the Android ecosystem, which has historically lagged behind Apple's MetalFX implementation. The temporal upscaling approach employed by ASR combines information from multiple frames to generate higher-quality images, offering superior visual fidelity compared to Qualcomm's Game Super Resolution (GSR), which relies on the older spatial-based FSR 1 technique. In benchmark testing with complex scenes, Arm demonstrated that ASR helps maintain stable device temperatures, preventing thermal throttling that can compromise user experience.

Collaboration with MediaTek confirmed significant power savings on Dimensity 9300 chipsets, directly addressing battery life concerns for mobile gamers. Arm plans to release pre-built plugins for Unity and Unreal Engine by year-end, streamlining integration for developers working with these widely-used game engines. During GDC demonstrations, Arm showcased the "Mori" demo running in Unreal Engine 5, where ASR delivered 30% performance improvements without visual compromises. Licensed under MIT open-source terms, ASR's accessibility extends across the entire Arm ecosystem, potentially benefiting smartphones running MediaTek Dimensity, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos, and even Arm-powered laptops featuring Snapdragon X series SoCs.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X platform is hitting more road obstacles as the platform matures. First, it was low sales in the third quarter of 2024, and now it is the latest flag from the world's largest online retailer—Amazon. According to Windows Central, Amazon has flagged Microsoft's Surface Laptop 7 AI PC with the "Frequently Returned Item" flag. Being pretty much self-explanatory, the flag marks items "with the highest return rates for their product category." Presumably, Amazon's algorithm has weighted out return rates of AI PCs, and it turns out that Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered Surface Laptop 7 has not stuck with consumers for long. Amazon's return policy allows product returns 30 days after receiving an item, and it seems like customers aren't pleased with it.

However, the laptop currently maintains a 4.2/5-star rating based on 360 ratings. 12% of these are one-star and 71% are five-star ratings. A sudden spike in returns may be boosted by Microsoft updating the Surface Laptop 7 with an Intel Core Ultra series of processors, so customers are returning their Arm-based laptops for x86 variants. We need more data to make further conclusions. As a reminder, despite sequential growth of 180% in Q3 2024, Snapdragon X-powered devices represent less than 1.5% of the Windows market, according to research from Canalys. Qualcomm sold around 720,000 Snapdragon X devices, accounting for only 0.8% of all PCs sold in Q3 2024. We are waiting for new data to compare to the rest of the ecosystem.

ASUS today announces its groundbreaking AI supercomputer, ASUS Ascent GX10, powered by the state-of-the-art NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip. This revolutionary device places the formidable capabilities of a petaFLOP-scale AI supercomputer directly onto the desks of developers, AI researchers and data scientists around the globe.

As the size and complexity of generative AI models grow, local development efforts face increasing challenges. Prototyping, tuning and inferencing large models require substantial memory and compute performance. To address these needs, Ascent GX10 is designed to provide developers with a powerful, economical desktop solution for AI development.

TrendForce reveals that the combined revenue of the world's top 10 IC design houses reached approximately US$249.8 billion in 2024, marking a 49% YoY increase. The booming AI industry has fueled growth across the semiconductor sector, with NVIDIA leading the charge, posting an astonishing 125% revenue growth, widening its lead over competitors, and solidifying its dominance in the IC industry.

Looking ahead to 2025, advancements in semiconductor manufacturing will further enhance AI computing power, with LLMs continuing to emerge. Open-source models like DeepSeek could lower AI adoption costs, accelerating AI penetration from servers to personal devices. This shift positions edge AI devices as the next major growth driver for the semiconductor industry.

In something of a surprise, Epic Games today announced that it is working with Qualcomm to integrate support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPUs into Easy Anti-Cheat, officially adding Fortnite to the list of games that are available for Windows on Arm. According to the post announcing the upcoming change to EAC, support for Windows on Arm in Fortnite will arrive before the end of 2025. Until the EAC update arrives, EAC will block Windows on Arm players from playing games like Fortnite because Windows on Arm devices use Prism emulation and translation to run x86 apps on Arm hardware. At the time of writing, the unofficial Windows on Arm app compatibility tracker lists a total of 675 apps as compatible with the Arm SoCs, 121 of which are games. This is compared to 17,955 games that are verified or playable on the Steam Deck via Valve's Proton translation layer, according to ProtonDB.

Expanding support for EAC to Windows on Arm could also allow games like Apex Legends and Fall Guys to run on Arm devices. This news comes in spite of the slow adoption of Windows on Arm devices, which Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney infamously quoted as the reason for not supporting the Steam Deck or Linux as a platform. "If we only had a few more programmers. It's the Linux problem. I love the Steam Deck hardware. Valve has done an amazing job there; I wish they would get to tens of millions of users, at which point it would actually make sense to support it." However, market share for Windows on Arm still appears to fall short of the market share Linux commands in the desktop OS space.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of IPC solutions, motherboards, graphics cards, and PC peripherals, is currently showcasing its latest technologies at Embedded World 2025, held from March 11-13 at Nurnberg Messe, Germany.

BIOSTAR's showcase features AI-powered industrial PCs and edge computing platforms that provide secure, efficient, and scalable solutions for industries like automation, smart cities, and human-machine interfaces (HMI) at this year's exhibition. With cutting-edge solutions such as IPC motherboards, panel PC, and edge computing systems, and NVIDIA Jetson Orin edge AI system, the products demonstrate BIOSTAR's capabilities on edge AI and edge computing area for critical industrial applications.

Synaptics Incorporated has extended its award-winning Synaptics Astra AI-Native platform with the SR-Series high-performance adaptive microcontroller units (MCUs) for scalable context-aware Edge AI. The series features three tiers of operation: performance (100 GOPS), efficiency, and ultra-low-power (ULP) always-on (AON) to deliver intelligence at every power level. Based on an Arm Cortex-M55 core and the Arm Ethos-U55 neural processing unit (NPU), the SR-Series is supported by the Astra Machina Micro development kit and open-source SDK. It is optimized for multimodal consumer, enterprise, and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) workloads with accelerators and adaptive vision, audio, and voice algorithms. The small-form-factor MCUs have a rich set of peripherals—including multiple camera interfaces—to help minimize system cost, power, and footprint while enabling integration into a wide range of devices, such as battery-operated security cameras, sensors, appliances, point-of-sale, digital signage, and scanners.

Announced at EW2024 with the SL-Series MPUs, the Synaptics Astra AI-Native compute platform for the IoT combines scalable, low-power compute silicon for the device Edge with open-source, easy-to-use software and tools and Veros wireless connectivity. The platform was built upon Synaptics' foundation in neural networks, field-hardened AI hardware and compiler design expertise for the IoT, and refined, in-house support of a broad base of modalities.

Just recently, Apple somewhat stunned the industry with the introduction of its refreshed Mac Studio with the M4 Max and M3 Ultra SoCs. For whatever reason, the Cupertino giant decided to spec its most expensive Mac desktop with an Ultra SoC that is based on an older generation, M3, instead of the newer M4 family. However, the M3 Max, which the M3 Ultra is based on, was no slouch, indicating that the M3 Ultra will likely boast impressive performance. However, if a collection of recent benchmark runs are anything to go by, it appears that the M3 Ultra is a tad too closely matched with the M4 Max in CPU performance, which makes the $2000 premium between the two SoCs rather difficult to digest. Needless to say, a single benchmark is hardly representative of real-world performance, so accept this information with a grain of salt.

According to the recently spotted Geekbench result, the M3 Ultra managed a single-core score of 3,221, which is roughly 18% slower than the M4 Max. In multicore performance, one might expect the 32-core M3 Ultra to sweep the floor with the 16-core M4 Max, but that is not quite the case. With a score of 27,749, the M3 Ultra leads the M4 Max by an abysmal 8%. Of course, these are early runs, which may suggest that future scores will likely be higher. However, it is clear as day that the M3 Ultra and the M4 Max, at least in terms of CPU performance, will be close together in multithreaded performance, with the M4 Max continuing to be substantially faster than the far more expensive M3 Ultra variant in single-threaded performance. It does appear that the primary selling point for the M3 Ultra-equipped Mac Studio will be the massive 80-core GPU and up to 512 GB of unified memory shared by the CPU and the GPU, which should come in handy for running massive LLMs locally and other niche workloads.

To make its robust programming and debugging capabilities accessible to a wider range of engineers, Microchip Technology has launched the MPLAB PICkit Basic in-circuit debugger as a cost-effective, powerful solution for engineers at various levels. Unlike other complex and expensive debuggers, this budget-friendly device offers high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity, CMSIS-DAP support, compatibility with various Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and compatibility with a broad range of microcontrollers. The tool's versatility allows developers to use the debugger across various projects and platforms—including VS Code ecosystems—to simplify the workflow and reduce the need for multiple tools.

Key features:

• USB Type-C Cable: The MPLAB PICkit Basic programmer debugger uses a USB Type-C cable, which is modern, widely adopted and easy to use. The USB-C connection helps promote better connectivity, faster data transfer and a more reliable connection, reducing the hassle of dealing with outdated or incompatible cables.

One of the main pillars that vendors of Arm-based processors often cite as a competitive advantage versus x86 processors is a keen focus on energy efficiency and predictability of performance. In the quest for higher efficiency and performance, Arm vendors have largely designed out the ability to operate on multiple threads concurrently—something that most enterprise-class CPUs have enabled for years under the technology description of "SMT"—which was also created in the name of enabling performance and efficiency benefits.

Arm vendors often claim that SMT brings security risks, creates performance unpredictability from shared resource contention and drives added cost and energy needed to implement SMT. Interestingly, Arm does support multi-threading in its Neoverse E1-class processor family for embedded uses such as automotive. Given these incongruities, this blog intends to provide a bit more clarity to help customers assess what attributes of performance and efficiency really bring them value for their critical workloads.

According to import-export database records obtained by WinFuture, we are informed that Qualcomm is testing an 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite processor designated SC8480XP, representing a 50% increase in core count over the current 12-core Snapdragon X Elite. The silicon, developed under the "Project Glymur" codename, incorporates Oryon V3 architecture in what documentation describes as a "high-TDP" implementation exceeding the current generation's 80 W thermal envelope. Test platforms pair the processor with 48 GB of SK Hynix RAM and 1 TB NVMe storage. Reference documentation suggests integration as a system-in-package (SiP), potentially offering CPU and memory in a unified package, much like Intel's Lunar Lake and Apple M-series processors. Thermal management testing includes configurations with 120 mm AIO cooling solutions typical in desktop applications, though form factor targets remain unspecified.

Whether homogeneous high-performance cores or heterogeneous clusters, core architecture details remain undisclosed. Market positioning appears focused on high-TDP environments, suggesting that this new wave of Arm-based Windows processors plans to fight more aggressively in the AI PC space, which will see even NVIDIA join it in the coming months. Internal documentation potentially references "Snapdragon X2 Ultra Premium" branding, though the final nomenclature remains unconfirmed. Volume availability is not expected until 2026, allowing time for platform optimization and validation. Qualcomm has gathered feedback from its Snapdragon X Elite initial launch and working to improve performance and app compatibility for Windows-on-Arm platforms.

Arm's new Cortex-A320 represents its first ultra-efficient CPU using the advanced Armv9 architecture dedicated to the needs of IoT and AI applications. The processor achieves over 50% higher efficiency compared to the Cortex-A520 through several microarchitecture optimizations, together with a narrow fetch and decode data path, densely banked L1 caches, and a reduced-port integer register file. It also delivers 30% improved scalar performance compared with its predecessor, the Cortex-A35, via efficient branch predictors, pre-fetchers, and memory system improvements.

The Cortex-A320 is a single-issue, in-order CPU with a 32-bit instruction fetch and 8-stage pipeline. The processor offers scalability by supporting single-core to quad-core configurations. It features DSU-120T, a streamlined DynamIQ Shared Unit (DSU) which enables Cortex-A320-only clusters. Cortex-A320 supports up to 64 KB L1 caches and up to 512 KB L2, with a 256-bit AMBA5 AXI interface to external memory. The L2 cache and the L2 TLB can be shared between the Cortex-A320 CPUs. The vector processing unit, which implements the NEON and SVE2 SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) technologies, can be either private in a single core complex or shared between cores in dual-core or quad-core implementations.

Silicon Labs, a leader in secure, intelligent wireless technology for a more connected world, today announced that its MG26 family of wireless SoCs is now generally available through Silicon Labs and its distribution partners. As the industry's most advanced, high-performance Matter and concurrent multiprotocol solution to date, the MG26 SoC features double the Flash and RAM of other Silicon Labs multiprotocol devices, advanced AI/ML processing, and best-in-class security to empower developers to design future-proof Matter applications.

"With MG26, we're not just setting a new standard in multiprotocol wireless performance for battery-based, low-power smart home applications—we're redefining what's possible for the future of IoT connectivity with Matter," said Jacob Alamat, Senior Vice President for the Home and Life business unit at Silicon Labs. "This device empowers developers to create smarter, safer, and more powerful solutions in an increasingly connected world."

Reports from Financial Times suggest Arm has plans to create its own CPU, set to hit the market in 2025 with Meta Platforms said to be one of the first customers. The chip is said to be a CPU for data center servers, with TSMC handling the manufacturing. However, when the Financial Times asked about this, SoftBank (the majority owner of Arm) and Meta stayed quiet, while Arm didn't give a statement. A Nikkei report from May 2024 suggested that a prototype AI processor chip would be completed by spring 2025 and available for sale by fall 2025, so the latest information from the Financial Times report feels like a confirmation of previous rumors.

Right now, Arm makes money by letting others use its instruction set and core designs to make their own chips. This new move could mean Arm will compete with its current customers. Sources in the industry say Arm is trying to win business from Qualcomm, with rumors that Arm has been bringing in executives from companies it works with to help develop this chip. While Qualcomm had talked in the past about giving Meta a data center CPU using Arm's design, it looks like Arm has won at least some of that deal. However, no technical or specification details are available currently for Arm's 1st in-house server CPU.

The rapid evolution of generative AI has created countless opportunities for innovation across industry and research. As is often the case with state-of-the-art technology, this evolution has also shifted the landscape of cybersecurity threats, creating new security requirements. Critical infrastructure cybersecurity is advancing to thwart the next wave of emerging threats in the AI era. Leading operational technology (OT) providers today showcased at the S4 conference for industrial control systems (ICS) and OT cybersecurity how they're adopting the NVIDIA cybersecurity AI platform to deliver real-time threat detection and critical infrastructure protection.

Armis, Check Point, CrowdStrike, Deloitte and World Wide Technology (WWT) are integrating the platform to help customers bolster critical infrastructure, such as energy, utilities and manufacturing facilities, against cyber threats. Critical infrastructure operates in highly complex environments, where the convergence of IT and OT, often accelerated by digital transformation, creates a perfect storm of vulnerabilities. Traditional cybersecurity measures are no longer sufficient to address these emerging threats. By harnessing NVIDIA's cybersecurity AI platform, these partners can provide exceptional visibility into critical infrastructure environments, achieving robust and adaptive security while delivering operational continuity.

Ever since Apple graced the industry with its M-series chips, Windows enthusiasts have been holding out for a similar Arm-powered revolution for Windows laptops. Qualcomm attempted to do just that with its Snapdragon X Elite chip, advertising performance and efficiency that trades blows with Apple Silicon, while outpacing x86-based laptops in battery life. In reality, the X Elite SoC did bring impressive efficiency to the table, although its CPU performance and efficiency were soon bested by AMD's offerings, while the Adreno iGPU struggled to keep up with even last-gen counterparts since day-one.

Moreover, software compatibility was a major hurdle, making the X Elite systems borderline unusable for professionals with specific requirements that do not have Arm-native alternatives. As a result, the X Elite laptops had a sub 1% market share last fall - a daunting figure considering that Qualcomm had initially targeted 30 - 50% market share by 2029. That said, the story appears to be taking somewhat of a positive turn, with CEO Christiano Amon asserting that Snapdragon X-powered laptops accounted for over 10% of all $800+ laptops sold in December, in the US. Of course, the statement clearly addresses a very specific segment of the market, which makes the 10%+ number more modest that it may appear on paper.