- Huawei describes the Kunpeng roadmap with a 256 -core processor scaling by 2028
- Benchmarks show the processor called Kunpeng 960 delivering 4.8 million TPM
- Superpod built on Kunpeng 950 aims to replace the mainframes inherited in the financial sector
Huawei described the plans to extend his family of Kunpeng processors with models that increase up to 256 cores by 2028.
“In the first quarter of 2026, we will reveal the Kunpeng 950 processor in two models: one with 96 hearts and 192 threads, and another with 192 hearts and 384 threads,” said Huawei rotation president Eric Xu in his speech speech during his recent Connect 2025 event in Shanghai.
These processors will support the Taishan 950 superpod, which can include up to 16 knots and 48 TB of memory.
Kunpeng 960
Built on the Kunpeng 950, the superpod will be “the first computer superpod for general use in the world,” added Xu.
It is presented as a replacement option for inherited mainframes and mid -range computers still used in the financial sector.
With Gaussdb, the Huawei distributed database system, the SuperPod can provide a 2.9x performance boost reported without requiring changes to existing configurations.
Xu suggested that this could make a candidate to replace systems such as the Oracle exams.
Looking further, Xu confirmed that Huawei is planning a 256 core processor.
“In the first quarter of 2028, we plan to introduce two models, including a high density design with at least 256 hearts and 512 sons,” he said.
This chip is intended for virtualization, containers, megadata and warehouse workloads.
A second model will focus on higher unique performance, improving more than 50% for AI and database use.
MOGDB’s performance benchmarks, the open source base -based database suggests that Kunpeng can play effectively in major deployments.
Using optimized memory tables, a Kunpeng configuration of 256 cores made 4.8 million transactions per minute with 768 connections, illustrating how workloads improve as the competition increases.
What is interesting is that although Xu did not name the processor during his speech, in the landmarks, he is called Kunpeng 960. It would make sense, because Huawei already uses designation 960 through its ranges of Atlas and Ascend products.
Huawei said he would continue to refine the technology of Kunpeng microarchitecture and packaging.
If delivered as expected, the 256 core processor would mark one of the largest processors for general use available.
Although the official objective of 2028 seems reasonable, I wonder if the existence of these references means that Huawei is more ahead of the calendar we have been led to believe and that the chip could happen earlier.
We contacted Huawei to find out more about the Kunpeng 960, but we do not retain our breath.
