In Seattle, a meteorologist analyzes dynamic atmospheric models to predict the next major storm system. In Stuttgart, an automotive engineer examines crash-test simulations for vehicle safety certification. And in Singapore, a financial analyst simulates portfolio stress tests to hedge against global economic shocks. 

Each of these professionals—and the consumers, commuters, and investors who depend on their insights— relies on a time-tested pillar of high-performance computing: the humble CPU. 

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With GPU-powered AI breakthroughs getting the lion’s share of press (and investment) in 2025, it is tempting to assume that CPUs are yesterday’s news. Recent predictions anticipate that GPU and accelerator installations will increase by 17% year over year through 2030. But, in reality, CPUs are still responsible for the vast majority of today’s most cutting-edge scientific, engineering, and research workloads. Evan Burness, who leads Microsoft Azure’s HPC and AI product teams, estimates that CPUs

For all the excitement around GPUs—the workhorses of today’s AI revolution—the central processing unit (CPU) remains the backbone of high-performance computing (HPC). CPUs still handle 80% to 90% of HPC workloads globally, powering everything from climate modeling to semiconductor design. Far from being eclipsed, they’re evolving in ways that make them more competitive, flexible, and indispensable than ever.

The competitive landscape around CPUs has intensified. Once dominated almost exclusively by Intel’s x86 chips, the market now includes powerful alternatives based on ARM and even emerging architectures like RISC-V. Flagship examples like Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer demonstrate how CPU innovation is pushing performance to new frontiers. Meanwhile, cloud providers like Microsoft and AWS are developing their own silicon, adding even more diversity to the ecosystem.

What makes CPUs so enduring? Flexibility, compatibility, and cost efficiency are key. As Evan Burness of Microsoft Azure points out,

In July 2024, a botched update to the software defenses managed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused more than 8 million Windows systems to fail. From hospitals to manufacturers, stock markets to retail stores, the outage caused parts of the global economy to grind to a halt. Payment systems were disrupted, broadcasters went off the air, and flights were canceled. In all, the outage is estimated to have caused direct losses of more than $5 billion to Fortune 500 companies. For US air carrier Delta Air Lines, the error exposed the brittleness of its systems. The airline suffered weeks of disruptions, leading to $500 million in losses and 7,000 canceled flights.

The magnitude of the CrowdStrike incident revealed just how interconnected digital systems are, and the extensive vulnerabilities in some companies when confronted with an unexpected occurrence. “On any given day, there could be