AI Agent Boom Drives Surge in Server CPU Demand, 2027 Shipments Projected to Grow Over 40%
TrendForce forecasts server CPU shipments to rise 31% in 2026 and over 40% in 2027 as AI agents drive inference demand, shifting the CPU-to-GPU/ASIC ratio from 1:8 toward 1:2 or 1:1. Intel's growth is constrained by delays and limited capacity, while AMD's share is seen reaching about 27% in 2026. Arm-based CPUs, led by AWS Graviton, NVIDIA Grace, Google Axion, and Microsoft Cobalt 100, are expect
TrendForce's latest forecast shows that as AI service providers actively deploy AI agent applications, server CPU demand has been heating up since the second half of 2025, with 2026 shipments projected to grow 31% year-on-year. This momentum will continue into 2027: driven by growing AI inference demand and the accelerating adoption of agentic AI services, server CPU shipments are expected to grow more than 40% year-on-year in 2027, and the market landscape dominated by x86 processors may also shift.
TrendForce also expects the rise of AI agents to increase the share of AI inference workloads in cloud data centers, gradually changing the CPU-to-GPU/ASIC ratio within servers. Based on server rack configurations planned by major suppliers and expected growth trajectories, the CPU-to-GPU/ASIC ratio will migrate from the traditional 1:8 toward 1:2 or even 1:1, further pushing up server CPU shipments.
AMD Share Could Rise to Nearly 30%?
On Intel's side, shipment delays caused by manufacturing process and packaging challenges with new products mean Emerald Rapids and Granite Rapids remain the mainstay; however, limited internal manufacturing capacity has constrained shipment growth, leaving the company unable to fully meet customer orders.
On AMD's side, the next-generation processor "Venice" (development codename) began small-batch production in 2026, but Genoa and Turin platforms remain the main force. Due to tight TSMC capacity, AMD's ability to take on additional orders is limited; however, TrendForce expects that, affected by Intel's slowdown, AMD's server CPU share will rise to about 27% in 2026.
Arm-Based CPU Share Could Exceed 20% in 2026?
On Arm-based CPUs, AWS continues to advance deployment of its in-house Graviton processors, and demand for NVIDIA Grace CPUs is also expanding. Google's in-house CPU "Axion" has entered large-scale shipment, and Microsoft Cobalt 100 and Arm's in-house "AGI processor" have also begun mass production and shipment, strengthening the offensive. Arm-based CPU shipment growth is expected to outpace x86 in 2026, with its share of the overall server CPU market exceeding 20%.
TrendForce further predicts that Arm-based CPU share will grow to about 30% by 2027. This is supported by increased NVIDIA Vera CPU shipments and mass production of new processors from Google, AWS, Microsoft, OpenAI, Arm, and Huawei, as well as Alibaba's launch of Yitian 720/730 CPUs.
On the x86 side, supply of Intel's next-generation products is expected to be limited, while AMD is expected to maintain more stable shipments. AMD plans to launch new products in the first half of 2027, and its market share is expected to expand further.