Libaba Group Holding Ltd. unveiled a new server chip that s based on advanced 5 nanometer technology, marking a milestone in China's pursuit of semiconductor self-sufficiency.
The Chinese technology giant s latest chips is based on the micro-architecture provided by Arm Ltd. - owned SoftBank Group Corp., according to a statement on Tuesday. Alibaba, which is holding its annual cloud Summit in Hangzhou said the silicon will be sold in the near future to use in its own data centers and will not be put to use commercially, at least for now.
Customizing our own server chips is consistent with our continued efforts towards boosting our computing capabilities with better performance and improved energy efficiency, said Jeff Zhang, chairman of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and head of Alibaba research arm Damo Academy. We plan to use the chips to support future and current business across the Alibaba Group ecosystem. With the recent pandemic fueling growing demand for cloud services, tech giants worldwide are increasingly seeking ny more energy efficient and powerful semiconductors to gain an edge. Alibaba s server chip is one of the most advanced by a Chinese firm yet, as it joins global rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Google in gradually replacing silicon from traditional chipmakers such Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. with products custom-designed for their data centers and workloads.
The development shows how China s effort to build a homegrown semiconductor industry is bearing fruit. Xi Jinping s government has made innovation as a top priority for the region. He sets aside billions in government funding and offers a wide range of political support to help local companies overcome U.S. sanctions on them.
Alibaba is one of a number of Chinese firms that answered Beijing's call to invest in the development of cutting edge technologies and manufacturing capacities. The Arm-based server chip is the third semiconductor used by the e-commerce giant since 2019 following an artificial intelligence chip as well as one for Internet of Things.
With limited domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, Alibaba will likely still have to outsource production. While the company did not disclose its manufacturing partner, Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are the only two companies capable of mass producing 5 - nm chips;
Each nanometer, equal to one billionth of a meter, measures the size of transistors in a chip. By making them smaller, manufacturers can concentrate in more of them to make semiconductors smaller and more powerful. Apple Inc. is among other companies to use cutting-edge chips for the chips that power their iPhones and Macs.