IBM says it has produced the world’s first 7nm (nanometer) chip, arriving well ahead of competitors, thanks to advances in its chip technology.

Chip makers are now producing 14nm processors, and the next big project for Intel and other chip makers has been the 10nm chip. IBM, in its announcement today, has upended the chip industry’s development path.

A 7nm chip will hold about four times as many transistors in the same area as a 14nm chip, said Richard Doherty, research director of Envisioneering, a technology assessment and market research firm. In terms of chip development, IBM has “moved the field goal out,” he said.

“For IBM to conquer 7nm without stopping at the 10nm that Intel is supposedly tackling, means that IBM has secured the future two steps out,” Doherty said.

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