IBM and Siemens Collaborate on Research to Advance Nanostack Architecture
Collaboration aims to accelerate development of the manufacturing and design capabilities needed for future nanostack generations
ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM), in collaboration with Siemens, announced new research aimed at advancing IBM's nanostack architecture, a new transistor architecture unveiled by IBM earlier this year. The collaboration will bring together IBM's leadership in semiconductor device innovation and Siemens' expertise in electronic design automation (EDA), process simulation, lithography optimization, and advanced manufacturing software to accelerate the development of nanostack.
Nanostack is the industry's first known three-dimensional, nanosheet-based design, vertically stacking and staggering transistors to pack more transistors onto a chip, with nearly 100 billion transistors in a space the size of a fingernail at its current 7 angstrom node. The design also unlocks the use of different material combinations within each stacked layer to optimize performance and power efficiency of each transistor independent of the other. These innovations power substantial leaps in energy efficiency, performance, and SRAM scaling.
Earlier this year, IBM demonstrated the viability of the nanostack architecture. Now, additional advances are needed to prepare the technology for manufacturing and production at scale.
Through this collaboration, IBM and Siemens will work to advance the design, simulation, and lithography techniques needed for this and future nanostack generations beyond the current 7 angstrom node. The collaboration includes developing advanced virtual models of nanostack in order to model performance, optimize designs, and address fabrication challenges before chips are built.
"Nanostack is a scalable transistor platform designed to shift device scaling from 2D to 3D, representing a new paradigm for the semiconductor industry and a path forward for the logic scaling needed to support AI and other emerging technologies over the coming decade," said Huiming Bu, Vice President of Silicon Technology R&D, IBM. "We are thrilled to work with Siemens as we continue to advance this technology and explore new approaches to extend angstrom-level scaling with nanostack."
"Scaling semiconductors into the angstrom era demands tightly coupled co-optimization between device physics, EDA design and manufacturing software, and manufacturing. As physical AI places extraordinary demands on silicon architecture, IBM's 3D nanostack design represents a pivotal leap forward," said Ankur Gupta, Executive Vice President, EDA IC Portfolio, Siemens. "Siemens' collaboration with IBM to advance virtual modeling, simulation, lithography, and design software optimizations needed to address physical limitations early and accelerate the development of these complex architectures is truly pioneering."
By combining IBM's semiconductor leadership with Siemens' advanced EDA software and simulation technologies, the companies aim to accelerate technology development cycles and advance the manufacturing foundation necessary for bringing nanostack toward production.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
Media contact:
Willa Hahn
IBM Communications
willa.hahn@ibm.com
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