How IBM Makes Sub-Nanometre AI Chip Technology

Global tech company IBM is pushing functional boundaries in the world of innovation with the creation of its new AI chip.

Representing the first sub-1 nanometre (nm) chip technology in the world, IBM's latest advancement features nearly 100 billion transistors. This fingernail-sized chip utilises a 0.7 nm transistor architecture, also known as the 7 angstrom node.

Making submicroscopic technology

The new IBM chips were manufactured using a transistor called “nanostack”, which is a three-dimensional, nanosheet-based design that stacks and staggers transistors. The design also optimises the performance and power efficiency of each transistor.

IBM says the chip will have 70% greater efficiency than IBM’s 2 nm node chips which were released in 2021. 

This sub-1 nm chip technology is expected to reach commercial production within five years. The architecture utilises High NA EUV lithography and 3D sequential integration to achieve numerous improvements in energy efficiency.

Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow, explains: “IBM’s latest chip breakthrough marks a landmark moment in computing, pushing technology beyond the nanometer era to the scale of atoms. With our new nanostack architecture, we’re not just making smaller transistors, we’re reinventing how chips are built to deliver dramatically more power and energy efficiency,”

“This industry-first innovation continues IBM’s legacy of leading in next-generation technologies and sets the foundation for the next era of computing.”

Other areas of innovation

IBM has taken numerous steps to transform the way it handles manufacturing. In 2025, IBM Research partnered with Nestlé to utilise Gen AI in order to figure out packaging alternatives which could meet food safety, quality and sustainability requirements in manufacturing and production operations.

Alessandro Curioni, Vice President Europe & Africa at IBM Research, says: “We do believe that Generative AI will continue to disrupt scientific discovery, impacting the core business of all knowledge-based industries, allowing critical differentiation and sustainable growth.”

Both companies can develop a comprehensive knowledge base and identify distinct procedural patterns by leveraging AI models.

Stefan Palzer, Chief Technology Officer at Nestlé, adds: "This novel AI-powered language model, developed in collaboration with IBM Research, illustrates how Nestlé is leading the digital transformation within the food and beverage industry. 

“In the future, such breakthrough technology could be used to optimise the development of more sustainable packaging solutions across product categories.”

In that same year, IBM entered a collaborative development agreement with L'Oréal aimed at building an AI model specifically for sustainable cosmetics.

To produce high-quality goods, the partnership integrates L'Oréal's expertise in the cosmetics industry with IBM's advanced technology for resource and data sourcing.

Stéphane Ortiz, Head of Innovation Métiers & Product Development – L'Oréal Research & Innovation, says: “As part of our Digital Transformation Program, this partnership will extend the speed and scale of our innovation and reformulation pipeline, with products always reaching higher standards of inclusivity, sustainability and personalisation.”

IBM says: “Understanding the behaviours of renewable ingredients in cosmetic formulas will help L'Oréal build out more sustainable product lines with greater inclusivity and personalisation for its consumers around the world.”