Loongson Technology Outlines Future CPU and GPU Development Plans
Loongson Technology updated their investor relations with respect to the key R&D projects planned for the next few years. The company is working with a new 32-core server chip-the 3D7000-based on an advanced process node, while also developing its first dedicated GPGPU, the 9A1000.
Roadmap to Next-Generation Server CPU
From 2025 to 2027, the company's primary R&D focus will be on the 3D7000 server chip. This chip would be made with 32 or more cores and manufactured with a next-generation "Xnm" process.
Loongson emphasized that its R&D schedule for the next-generation server may be flexible depending on the development of the manufacturing process. The company may, subject to the availability of the "Xnm" process, first produce a 16-core server chip, codenamed 3C6600, using a "1Xnm" process.
Some groundwork for the advanced chip development has already been initiated. Loongson stated,
"Some of this advance work is the IP design for the X-nanometer advanced process, initiation of research and development on phase-locked loops, multi-port register stacks, DDR5-PHY, PCIe5-PHY, and others need to begin research and development."
The general timeframe for this IP development is about one and a half to two years before the main chip design starts.
First Entry into the GPU Market with the 9A1000
Loongson Technology confirms that the 9A1000 is its first GPGPU chip, designed to incorporate the graphics rendering and AI computing capability required by AIPC applications.
The 9A1000 is a low-to-middle-entry GPGPU because it will harness graphics processing power greater than those offered by the internal graphic systems in CPUs.
A big move is the design of Windows drivers for the 9A1000 to have the GPU work under Windows PCs, enlarging the potential market.
R&D Timeline
By September's end, the 9A1000 GPU is scheduled for tape-out delivery. Loongson, however, pointed out that this would still require extra time before it would be truly okay. The server chip segments, such as the 3D7000, would forever take longer, virtually tracking between 2025 and 2027.
