(Reuters) – SoftBank Group arm Holdings (NASDAQ:) plans to develop artificial intelligence chips and aims to launch the first products in 2025, Asia reported on Sunday.
The report added that UK-based Arm will set up an AI chip division and aims to build a prototype by spring 2025. Mass production will be handled by contract manufacturers and is expected to start in fall 2025, Nikkei Asia said.
Arm will pay initial development costs, which could amount to hundreds of billions of yen, with SoftBank (TYO:) also contributing, the report said.
Once the mass production system is established, the AI chip business could be separated and placed under SoftBank's management, the newspaper said, adding that SoftBank is already negotiating with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and others regarding manufacturing, looking to secure production capacity.
Arm declined to comment, while SoftBank and TSMC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The UK chip designer, which licenses its chip designs and makes money through royalties, has expanded into the data center market as operators look to build their own chips to power new AI models and reduce their dependence on dominant supplier Nvidia (NASDAQ: ).