IBM revealed the industry's first sub-1 nanometer semiconductor chip technology at 0.7 nm (7 angstrom) on June 25, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The chip uses a revolutionary three-dimensional "nanostack" transistor architecture that vertically stacks and staggers transistors in multiple layers [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

The chip is about the size of a fingernail and contains nearly 100 billion transistors, roughly twice the transistor density of IBM's 2 nm chip introduced in 2021, which had around 50 billion transistors [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. It offers up to 50% higher performance and 70% improved energy efficiency compared to the 2 nm node technology [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Jay Gambetta, IBM Research Director and Fellow, said, "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" [1]. He added in Chinese that this breakthrough "pushes technology from the nano era to the atomic scale," marking a milestone in computing technology by both shrinking transistor size and changing chip manufacturing methods [7].

IBM's nanostack design is the industry's first 3D nanosheet-based transistor architecture, allowing different material combinations per transistor layer for independent optimization of performance and power [1, 5, 6, 7, 8]. This architecture can reduce SRAM area by 40%, aiding designs for high-bandwidth AI workloads [5, 7].

To support production of the chip, IBM plans to deploy high-NA EUV lithography equipment and work closely with industry partners [7]. They expect to achieve mass production of the 0.7 nm nanostack chips within about five years, around 2031 [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

The chip targets applications including generative AI, cloud infrastructure, and next-generation electronics [1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8]. Intel recently announced that its competing 1.8 nm 18A chip process has entered trial production, highlighting emerging competition in the advanced node space [3, 4, 8].

IBM's announcement led to a more than 4% rise in its stock price during pre-market trading on June 25, 2026 [6].