Arm Unveils 136-Core AGI CPU, Its First In-House Data Center Chip

Arm has introduced its AGI CPU, a new data center processor with up to 136 cores, marking the company’s first move into selling its own finished silicon rather than licensing chip designs.

The processor, built on TSMC’s 3nm process and based on Arm’s Neoverse V3 architecture, is designed to handle what the company describes as “agentic AI infrastructure,” focusing on coordinating accelerators and managing data flow in large-scale AI systems. The chip runs at up to 3.2 GHz across all cores, with a boost up to 3.7 GHz, and operates within a 300-watt power envelope.

Arm said the AGI CPU supports 12 channels of DDR5 memory at speeds up to 8800 MT/s, delivering over 800 GB/s of bandwidth. It also includes 96 PCIe Gen6 lanes and native support for CXL 3.0, enabling expanded memory and pooling capabilities for data center deployments.

The company outlined reference system designs, including a dual-node server aligned with Open Compute Project standards and high-density rack configurations capable of scaling to tens of thousands of cores. Arm said its internal estimates show the chip can deliver more than twice the performance per rack compared to current x86 platforms, though those figures have not been independently verified.

Meta collaborated on the development and plans to deploy the processor alongside its MTIA accelerators. Santosh Janardhan, Meta’s head of infrastructure, said the companies worked together on the chip and are aligned on a multi-generation roadmap.

Arm also confirmed early commercial commitments from companies including Cerebras, Cloudflare, F5, OpenAI, SAP, and SK Telecom. OpenAI’s Sachin Katti said the processor will support its infrastructure by improving the orchestration layer for large-scale AI workloads.

The launch adds a new option to Arm’s business model. Alongside its traditional licensing approach and its Compute Subsystems program, the company will now offer production-ready chips that customers can deploy directly.

Arm said the AGI CPU line will continue alongside its existing Neoverse roadmap, positioning the new chips as an addition rather than a replacement for its licensing business, even as it enters markets where its partners already compete.

This analysis is based on reporting from Tom's Hardware.

Image courtesy of Arm.

This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.