Startup’s Universal Processor combines CPU, GPU, DSP, and FPGA into a single chip

Why it matters: Devices like smartphones rely on a fragmented array of CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, DSPs, and other accelerators to handle various tasks. However, these specialized cores often remain idle, leading to wasted power and silicon area. A startup aims to tackle this inefficiency with a unified design it aptly calls the “Universal Processor.”

Ubitium claims to be developing a groundbreaking processor architecture capable of handling virtually any workload.

At the heart of this innovation is a “workload-agnostic microarchitecture” built on the open-source RISC-V instruction set. Unlike traditional chips with specialized cores dedicated to specific tasks, the Universal Processor’s transistors can be dynamically repurposed to handle a wide range of computing workloads, including simple control logic, general computing, AI, and graphics rendering.

The startup is comprised of veterans from companies like Intel, Nvidia, and Texas Instruments. The key inventor, Martin Vorbach, holds over 200 patents licensed by major chipmakers. However, as Tom’s Hardware points out, turning this concept into a fully functional product is a massive challenge in itself.

So far, Ubitium has raised only $3.7 million to move the Universal Processor from the drawing board to working prototypes. This is a small amount for cutting-edge chip development, which can easily run into the hundreds of millions.

Yet, the startup is aiming to deliver its first real Universal Processor chips by 2026. As a result, some are understandably skeptical that such an ambitious startup can deliver a “breakthrough” new architecture on such an aggressive timeline.

Ubitium doesn’t just envision a single Universal Processor; they’re aiming to build an entire lineup, ranging from tiny embedded devices to high-performance computing systems that could potentially compete with the largest chips from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.

The potential upsides are tantalizing. For one, Ubitium claims its Universal Processor can deliver 10 to 100 times better performance per cost compared to today’s dedicated chips.

“As we reuse the same transistors for various workloads, replacing an array of chips and reducing complexity, we lower the overall cost of the system. Depending on the baseline, this is a performance/cost ratio of 10x to 100x…The reuse of transistors for different workloads drastically reduces the overall transistor count in the processor – further saving energy and silicon area,” Ubitium CEO Hyun Shin Cho told Venture Beat.

Cho added that their creation isn’t an incremental improvement, but rather a “total paradigm shift” for microprocessors.