Hot Chips 2026

What this countdown tracks

The clock above counts down to Hot Chips 2026, the premier semiconductor architecture symposium, scheduled for August 23-25, 2026 at Stanford University. Tutorials open August 23 with the main technical programme running August 24-25 at 09:00 PT.

About this event

Hot Chips is the most important calendar moment for semiconductor architects. Run as an IEEE / ACM symposium since 1989, it brings together the design teams behind the world's most consequential CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators, and networking chips for two days of detailed talks at Stanford's Memorial Auditorium. Roughly 1,500 attendees gather for first-party deep dives from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple, Qualcomm, IBM, Samsung, Cerebras, Tenstorrent, Google, AWS, and Meta.

The 2026 edition arrives with the AI-accelerator architecture race continuing to intensify, custom hyperscaler silicon (TPU, Trainium, Maia, MTIA) now mainstream, and several startups (Cerebras, Tenstorrent, Groq, SambaNova) presenting new generations. The talks at Hot Chips are unusually technical for an industry conference, with die shots, microarchitecture detail, and performance characterisation that rarely appears elsewhere.

What to expect

The main programme typically includes a NVIDIA disclosure on the latest GPU generation, AMD's Instinct or EPYC microarchitecture, Intel's data-center / client roadmap, Apple's silicon team (when they present), Qualcomm's Snapdragon X / Oryon details, IBM's mainframe / Power roadmap, hyperscaler custom-chip presentations (Google TPU, AWS Trainium, Microsoft Maia, Meta MTIA), and AI-startup presentations.

Day-one tutorials cover specific topics in depth (e.g., AI accelerator design, advanced packaging, networking). Conversations on the lawn between sessions are often where the year's most interesting technical analysis happens.

Past editions

• Hot Chips 2025 (August 2025, Stanford) included AMD's Instinct MI355X disclosure, NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra deep dive, Tenstorrent Blackhole, and Google's TPU Ironwood architecture talk.
• Hot Chips 2024 covered NVIDIA Blackwell, AMD MI300X follow-ons, Intel Lunar Lake, and major hyperscaler custom-chip details.
• Hot Chips 2023 featured the original Apple M3 family disclosure and detailed presentations on AMD Instinct MI300.
• Hot Chips has been held annually since 1989, primarily at Stanford.

How to watch

The main programme streams to registered virtual attendees via the Hot Chips YouTube channel; most talks become public on the channel within several months. The programme begins at 09:00 PT on August 24, 2026, which is 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST, 18:00 CEST, 21:30 IST, and 01:00 JST on August 25. Live in-person attendance is at Stanford's Memorial Auditorium.

Related countdowns

Hot Chips shares the chip calendar with NVIDIA GTC 2026, AMD Advancing AI 2026, Snapdragon Summit 2026, and COMPUTEX 2026.

FAQ

When does Hot Chips 2026 start? Sunday, August 23, 2026 with tutorials, and the main programme runs August 24-25 at 09:00 PT. Where is Hot Chips 2026? Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium in Stanford, California. How can I watch Hot Chips 2026? Registered virtual attendees stream live; most talks publish on the Hot Chips YouTube channel within several months. Who presents at Hot Chips? First-party design teams from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple, Qualcomm, IBM, Samsung, Cerebras, Tenstorrent, Google, AWS, Meta, and others.