IBM revealed a new mainframe processor at Hot Chips 2026 that lets a single core natively execute both Arm and IBM Z or LinuxONE instructions, rather than pairing separate cores for each architecture. Built on a 2nm process with 11 cores running above 5.7 GHz, the chip includes AI accelerators for fraud detection and a dedicated data processing unit for I/O. It is the first hardware result of IBM's April 2026 partnership with Arm, aimed at future IBM Z and LinuxONE systems.
newsroom.ibm.com
· 2026-08-26
At Hot Chips 2026, IBM unveiled an early look at a future mainframe processor featuring 11 IBM Z cores on a 2-nanometer process, clocked above 5.7 GHz, capable of natively executing both z/Architecture and AArch64 instructions on the same cores without emulation. The chip will include specialized accelerators for AI fraud detection, I/O, compression, cryptography and sorting, plus a large cache hierarchy topping out near 3.5 GB of virtual L4 cache. IBM hasn't named the chip or its host system but expects it around 2028, likely powering a future z18-class mainframe.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-25
IBM unveiled a new mainframe processor at Hot Chips that will power future IBM Z and LinuxONE systems, marking the first chip whose cores can execute both IBM's proprietary instruction set and Arm's, switching between them in nanoseconds. Each of the chip's 11 cores is built to be dual-architecture rather than pairing separate Arm and Z cores side by side, letting Arm-native Linux and AI software run alongside traditional z/OS transaction workloads on the same silicon.
venturebeat.com
· 2026-08-24
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