- Huawei outlines KUNDENG -the CPus scaling to 256 cores in 2028
- Benchmarks Displays Processor called KUNDENG 960 that delivers 4.8 million TPM
- Superpod built on Kunpeng 950 aims to replace older mainframes in the financial sector
Huawei has outlined plans to expand its Kunpeng processor -family with models that scale up to 256 cores in 2028.
“In the first quarter of 2026, we reveal the Kunpeng 950 processor in two models: one with 96 cores and 192 threads, and another with 192 cores and 384 threads,” Huawei’s rotating chairman Eric XU said in his keynote speaker at his recent Connect 2025 event in Shanghai.
These processors support the Taishan 950 Superpod, which may include up to 16 nodes and 48 TB of memory.
KUNDENG 960
Superpod is built on Kunpeng 950 and will be “the world’s first general computing superpod,” XU added.
It is presented as a replacement option for older mainframes and mid -range computers still used in the financial sector.
With GAUSSDB, Huawei’s distributed database system, Superpod can provide a reported 2.9x performance boost without demanding changes to existing setups.
XU suggested this could make it a candidate to replace systems like Oracle’s Exadata.
Looking further, Xu 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 cores and 512 threads,” he said.
This chip is designed for virtualization, containers, big data and inventory.
Another model will focus on higher single-core performance, which is improved by more than 50% for AI and database use cases.
Performance Benchmarks from Mogdb, the Open Source database based on Opengauss, suggests that Kunpen can scale effectively in large implementations.
Using memory-optimized tables, a 256-core KUNDENG Setup achieved 4.8 million transactions per year. Minute with 768 connections, illustrating how workload improves as simultaneous increases.
What is interesting is that although XU did not named the processor under his main note, it is called in benchmarks like Kunpeng 960. It would make sense as Huawei already uses the 960 designation across his atlas and rises product lines.
Huawei said it will continue to refine Kunpeng micro -architecture and packaging technology.
If delivered as planned, the 256-core processor would mark one of the largest CPUs for general general purposes.
While the official goal of 2028 seems reasonable, I wonder if the existence of these benchmarks means that Huawei is further ahead of the plan than we have been led to believing and the chip can come faster.
We’ve reached Huawei to find out more about Kunpeng 960, but we’re not holding our breath.
