If Microsoft is looking into its own ARM chips that could set off alarms at Intel and AMD

pcgamer.com:

Microsoft appears to be going on a hiring spree aimed at bolstering its ARM chip expertise. Some recent job listings seen by Windows Latest(opens in new tab) suggest the company is ramping up efforts to build its own system-on-chips (SoCs), potentially with a view to leveraging them with future Windows versions.

The job listings, as described by Windows Latest, suggest Microsoft is in the market for a few key roles in silicon engineering to join its «Microsoft Silicon team». The main hire being Principal System on Chip Silicon Architect, who would need to be handy with both CPU and GPU architectures and their design.

«The candidate will be responsible for building complex, state-of-the-art SOCs using leading silicon technology nodes and will collaborate closely with internal customers and partners,» the job listing was reportedly said to read.

Another job role still up (the others have reportedly now been removed) is for a Senior Product Engineer within the Microsoft Silicon team.

Now these job listings don't necessarily mean Microsoft is chasing its own in-house development of an ARM-based processor, even if they do sound like it. For one, Microsoft works with AMD on semi-custom chips for its Xbox and Surface device lineup, as it has with other tech firms before, and a closer integration with its hardware partners and customers will be pretty key for the foreseeable future. Getting the most out of Windows and new features, such as those with AI, will require some close collaboration on both software and hardware. 

Similarly, job listings don't always turn into chips in devices, even with the best intentions and skills of everyone involved.

That said, Apple does produce its own lineup of M1 and M2 processors, built