Intel Unveils Diamond Rapids Server Processor Architecture Developed in Israel

Intel revealed the architecture of its next-generation server processors, named Diamond Rapids, which incorporates innovative technology led by its Israeli R&D center. This announcement marks an expansion of the Israeli team's responsibilities, leveraging years of expertise in personal computer processor development to now design a central computing unit for the upcoming server architecture.

The Diamond Rapids processors, supporting up to 256 cores, are built on four modular Computer Building Blocks (CBBs), each developed under the leadership of the Israeli R&D center. Previously focused mainly on performance core development for Xeon processors, the Israeli team has now taken on broader responsibility, applying breakthroughs in energy efficiency and performance from the Lunar Lake laptop processors to server-grade chips.

A key challenge addressed was enabling fast, efficient access for hundreds of cores to system components. Each CBB clusters up to 64 cores to operate as a single compute unit, providing consistent memory access and modularity for different server systems. The Israeli team also contributed to enhancing data protection during processing by adapting security mechanisms to the new architecture, ensuring data remains isolated and encrypted even when stored in additional server memory. They also developed simpler methods to verify secure server environments before sensitive data transfer.

Intel is accelerating development amid rising demand for central processors in data centers, especially for AI model deployment stages, where CPUs are preferred over GPUs. The Diamond Rapids architecture was unveiled at the Hot Chips conference in Silicon Valley and will underpin the next generation of Xeon processors for data centers.