Arm’s 3-nanometer AGI CPU debuts with Meta data-center deal

Arm has launched its first in-house 3-nanometer AGI CPU, marking a shift from licensing chip designs to selling processors directly for data centers and AI workloads. The chip was unveiled by CEO Rene Haas in San Francisco, with TSMC manufacturing it on its 3nm node in Taiwan. Meta is the first data center customer. Meta is building multiple gigawatts of AI infrastructure and plans up to $135 billion in capital expenditures this year. The article notes Meta also secured additional supply from Nvidia and AMD earlier, giving it more than one processor sourcing option. Arm did not disclose deal terms. The push comes as “agentic AI” increases CPU relevance. Nvidia has previously said CPUs are becoming a bottleneck as multi-agent compute shifts the workload toward general-purpose processing. Arm’s AGI CPU is designed for improved performance-per-watt, claiming up to 2x efficiency versus x86 racks. One air-cooled rack can reportedly hold up to 64 CPUs (about 8,700 cores), with Arm arguing that better watt efficiency frees power for other data-center components. Arm’s 3-nanometer AGI CPU rollout also highlights supply-chain and validation work. Arm spent $71 million and about 18 months building new lab rooms in Austin, Texas, where the chips undergo repeated testing post-fabrication. Arm said production is currently in Taiwan, while TSMC is preparing a 3nm fab in Arizona; future manufacturing depends on customer demand. Industry leaders and major tech partners attended the launch, underscoring potential momentum for AI CPU demand.