IBM unveils technology for chips it says pack performance leap and use much less power
MoneyWatch
IBM unveils technology for chips it says pack performance leap and use much less power
June 25, 2026 / 7:38 AM EDT / AFP
Add CBS News on GoogleIBM unveiled semiconductor technology Thursday that it says could deliver computer chips with 50 percent better performance while dramatically lowering power consumption.
The technology developed by IBM isn't ready for industrial use yet, but the Armonk, New York-based company said it "sees a path to production in as early as the next five years."
The breakthrough could mean a major leap forward as the industry races to cram more computing power into smaller devices even as worries grow over the tech industry's huge energy needs.
Taiwan's TSMC, the world's leading chip manufacturer, has recently begun mass-producing "2-nanometer" chips, the current cutting edge of the industry.
IBM's new "0.7-nanometer" technology would represent a dramatic step beyond that.
The nanometer, an atomic-scale unit of measurement, doesn't refer to the literal size of chips or their components, but to how densely transistors -- the tiny electronic switches that make up processors -- can be packed together.
The smaller the number, the more transistors can fit on a chip the size of a fingernail.
IBM's apparent breakthrough packs nearly 100 billion transistors onto a chip that size -- nearly twice the density of the 2-nanometer chip.
More transistors mean faster and more powerful computing and can help drive advances like faster smartphones and laptops, more efficient data centers, better self-driving cars, and more capable artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.
IBM's new chip is projected to offer "up to 50 percent more performance, or 70 percent greater energy efficiency than IBM's 2-nanometer node chips," the company said.
That's considered a critical advantage as data centers worldwide grapple with artificial intelligence's enormous power demands, with local communities expressing increasing worry over the consequences of the facilities.
Chip's layering arrangement the key
IBM's breakthrough uses a new three-dimensional architecture called "nanostack," which stacks transistor layers on top of each other rather than arranging them in a single layer.
"IBM's latest chip breakthrough marks a landmark moment in computing, pushing technology beyond the nanometer era to the scale of atoms," said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research.
"We're not just making smaller transistors, we're reinventing how chips are built to deliver dramatically more power and energy efficiency."
The technology also delivers a 40 percent improvement in SRAM memory chips -- "something that we haven't seen in decades," said Huiming Bu, IBM's vice president of semiconductors.
SRAM chips act like a processor's short-term memory and are a critical component in electronic devices from gaming consoles to laptops.
IBM's technology isn't ready for mass production yet, with the company expecting to reach the manufacturing stage within five years.
Producing such chips is a highly complex process requiring advanced manufacturing equipment, deep technical expertise and billions of dollars in investment.
IBM doesn't manufacture chips itself, instead licensing its designs to companies like Japan's Rapidus, with which it is working to scale 2-nanometer production.
TSMC is currently developing "1.4-nanometer" technology targeted for mass production around 2028.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
