Qualcomm, Nvidia and AMD To Build CPUs For Windows

The future of Windows PCs is becoming more colorful, at least when it comes to the CPU. Qualcomm, AMD, and Nvidia now also want to launch their own ARM processors for Windows devices, at least informed sources claim.

Is the ARM change coming for Windows now?

Qualcomm is leading the way these days, and Nvidia and AMD want to follow suit in the next few years: according to a report by Reuters, the other two chip manufacturers are also planning to introduce their own ARM-based processors for PCs with Windows. Sources close to the two companies are said to have reported this.

According to the Reuters report, Nvidia quietly began developing its own processors for use in Windows PCs that use the ARM architecture some time ago. Microsoft is also behind the project and wants to target Apple with ARM PCs, which has had great success with ARM chips for several years.

AMD also has similar plans, it is said. The first new ARM platforms from Nvidia and AMD for Windows systems could start in 2025, according to the report. Qualcomm still has an exclusive license from Microsoft to sell ARM chips for Windows PCs, but this agreement is set to end next year.

Microsoft wants to expand its range of ARM platforms

Microsoft has therefore been working behind closed doors to get more chipmakers to develop their own ARM platforms for ” Windows on ARM “, according to the report. The Redmond company allegedly wants to avoid losing touch with Apple’s increasingly powerful ARM-based Macs with the x86-based PCs, which are still dominant today.

The new ARM CPUs for Windows devices should, among other things, provide increasingly more performance for AI applications and therefore have corresponding computing units on board. These are intended to ensure that new AI features such as Windows Copilot work better. For providers of software for Windows, Microsoft’s “push” towards ARM will of course bring about major changes; after all, they now have to ensure that their products also run natively on ARM platforms.

At least for Intel, Microsoft’s ARM plans are not good news. Apparently, people in Redmond no longer want to be permanently dependent on Intel and the x86 architecture and are facing increasing pressure from Apple and its increasing market shares, also thanks to the ARM Macs. Theoretically, Intel could also get involved with ARM PCs, as the US chip giant, like AMD and Nvidia, has had an ARM license for some time.

It wouldn’t be the first time for Nvidia to offer ARM CPUs for Windows devices, as Microsoft’s Surface RT from 2012 was already based on an Nvidia Tegra 3 ARM SoC. Windows 8 RT ran on this 32-bit platform at the time, but for various reasons, it was never a big success. AMD has been offering its own ARM CPUs for systems with Windows Server for years with the EPYC series.