Nvidia launches ‘superchip’ putting AI power into laptops and PCs | Nvidia
A new front has opened in the struggle for dominance in artificial intelligence chips, with Nvidia saying that its latest development could replace the mouse and keyboard in people’s computer use.
The $5 trillion (£3.7 trillion) US semiconductor company has launched a “superchip” that puts AI capabilities into laptops and desktops; It’s a move that will pit it against Intel, Apple, Qualcomm and AMD.
According to Nvidia’s general manager Jensen Huang, the RTX Spark chip will be released this year and will be used by computer manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, Asus and HP, paired with Microsoft’s Windows software.
Speaking at the Computex conference in Taiwan, Huang said that after three years of collaboration between Nvidia and Microsoft, the chip will “reinvent the PC” for the artificial intelligence era.
The device, a combination of microprocessor and graphics chip developed with help from Taiwan’s MediaTek, is designed to run AI agents locally rather than relying on cloud computing.
It will replace humans’ traditional mouse and keyboard interactions, allowing agents to navigate computers independently. The company said the computers will still be thin and light because the chip is so powerful.
Nvidia has redesigned the computer “for the first time in 40 years,” Huang said.
Analysts said that the company’s entry into the consumer computer industry will open a new business area, but this will take time. Nvidia, which dominates the rapidly evolving AI semiconductor market, is moving beyond graphics cards to integrated chips that power the entire computer.
Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research, compared the “RTX Spark moment” to the emergence of the iPhone, ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
“RTX Spark aims to transform the traditional application-centric computer into a truly useful, agent-AI personal computer that will be in every home in the coming years as dedicated edge AI agents become important,” he said.
The new chip and Nvidia’s Vera central processing unit (CPU) show the company is increasingly focusing on its PC and CPU products. The Vera CPU is designed for AI representatives and early adopters, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX.
Susannah Streeter, Wealth Club’s chief investment strategist, said: “Nvidia’s latest push into AI-powered personal computers marks a bold attempt to expand its dominance beyond data centers and into consumers’ daily lives. The launch of the RTX Spark chip reinforces Jensen Huang’s vision of PCs evolving from simple productivity tools to hyperintelligent digital co-workers.”
“While strategically important, investors will likely view this move as a longer-term growth opportunity rather than a source of immediate profit. For now, Nvidia’s fate is still largely dependent on the relentless global demand for AI infrastructure and data center computing power.”
As the chip wars heat up, Intel plans to launch an AI chip later this year that uses cheaper memory and cooling technology from California rivals Nvidia and AMD.
Intel announced its new graphics processing unit Xe3P, codenamed Crescent Island. It’s “tailored for the next generation of AI tools,” according to Anil Nanduri, vice president of AI products for Intel’s Data Center Group.
Amid fears that AI will destroy large numbers of jobs, Huang said it was “complete nonsense” that the technology would reduce demand for software engineers and argued that it would increase hiring by making workers more productive.
“This is the promise of artificial intelligence,” he said. “The number of engineers, software engineers, is actually increasing. People talk about AI cutting jobs, which is complete nonsense. It’s leading to more software engineers being hired.”
Meanwhile, Arm CEO Rene Haas is set for a pay packet that will make him a billionaire if he achieves his goals of turning the microchip firm into Britain’s first trillion-dollar company.
Arm, which is listed in New York but has its global headquarters in Cambridge suggested a payment plan This includes generous stock awards totaling more than $1 billion by 2031 if Haas reaches certain “exceptional growth benchmarks.”
