What just happened? Samsung Electronics has announced a partnership with British semiconductor and software design firm Arm to develop the next-generation Cortex-X CPU. The collaboration is expected to improve the performance and power efficiency of the processor, which will be fabricated using Samsung Foundry's latest Gate-All-Around (GAA) process node.
In a press release announcing the partnership, Samsung said that the collaboration marks the first step of a long-term understanding between the two companies that will see them "reinvent" 2-nanometer GAA for next-generation data center and infrastructure silicon. The two will also work together on a new AI chiplet solution that Samsung says will "revolutionize the future generative artificial intelligence (AI) mobile computing market."
Samsung Foundry is the South Korean chaebol's chip fabrication unit, and GAA is its most advanced process node yet. According to reports, GAA will offer improved scaling compared to FinFET designs, bringing increased performance and improved efficiency.
The press release also pointed out that in today's tech industry, it is critically important to deliver "first-time-right silicon" while remaining competitive in terms of power, performance and area (PPA). To attain that objective, the companies incorporated the design-technology co-optimization (DTCO) solution, which enabled them to optimize design and manufacturing simultaneously, thereby maximizing the PPA benefits for both the Cortex-X CPU design and GAA process technology.
Samsung also noted that generative AI is a key growth driver for new products, hinting that the partnership will also work towards making it easier for their customers to implement Gen AI solutions in their offerings. However, the company did not say whether the collaboration will start with its SF2 production node expected to arrive next year, or the SF2P node projected to land in 2026.
It is worth noting here that Samsung and Arm have a long-standing relationship, having already worked together for several years. Over the past couple of decades, millions of devices have shipped globally with Arm-designed chips fabricated by Samsung Foundry on various process nodes. In addition, almost all of Samsung's phones and tablets ship with either Qualcomm processors or the company's in-house Exynos chips, both of which are based on Arm designs. Samsung also manufacturers Arm-based SoCs for third-parties on contract.