IBM Unveils 2-Nanometer Semiconductor Chip Technology

IBM IBM has introduced the first semiconductor chip with 2-nanometer nanosheet technology.

What Happened: The new chip is projected to achieve a 45% higher performance level — or 75% lower energy use — than the most advanced 7 nm node chips now in use, according to IBM. 

The 2 nm chips can quadruple the life of cell phone batteries, significantly reduce the carbon footprint created by data centers, increase the speed of laptop functions and contribute to faster object detection and reaction time in autonomous vehicles, including self-driving cars, the company said. 

"The IBM innovation reflected in this new 2 nm chip is essential to the entire semiconductor and IT industry," said Darío Gil, senior vice president and director of IBM Research. "It is the product of IBM's approach of taking on hard tech challenges and a demonstration of how breakthroughs can result from sustained investments and a collaborative R&D ecosystem approach."

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Why It Matters: There has been a global shortage of semiconductor chips since 2020. According to an analysis published last month by Goldman Sachs GS, 169 industries are impacted by the semiconductor shortage.

“Some computer chips have no available substitute, and if output of every product that uses chips were to decline proportionately, the drag on 2021 GDP would be around 1%,” Goldman Sachs senior economist Spencer Hill wrote in a research note.

IBM developed the 2 nm chip in a research lab at its Albany Nanotech Complex in Albany, New York. The company did not state when the chip will become commercially available.

IBM Price Action: IBM shares were up 0.76% at $146.25 at last check Thursday.

(A 2 nm wafer fabricated consisting of hundreds of individual chips. Photo courtesy of IBM.)