CPUs are Back: The Datacenter CPU Landscape in 2026

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Since 2023, the datacenter story has been simple. GPUs and networking are king. The arrival and subsequent explosion of AI Training and Inference have shifted compute demands away from the CPU. This meant that Intel, the primary supplier of server CPUs, failed to ride the wave of datacenter buildout and spending. Server CPU revenue remained relatively stagnant as hyperscalers and neoclouds focused on GPUs and datacenter infrastructure.At the same time, the same hyperscalers have been rolling their own ARM-based datacenter CPUs for their cloud computing services, closing off a significant addressable market for Intel. And within their own x86 turf, Intel’s lackluster execution and uncompetitive performance to rival AMD has further eroded market share. Without a competent AI accelerator offering, Intel was left to tread water while the rest of the industry feasted.Over the last 6 months this has changed massively. We have posted multiple reports to Core Research and the Tokenomics Model about soaring CPU demand. The primary drivers we have shown and modeled are reinforcement learning and vibe coding’s incredible demand on CPUs. We have also covered major CPU cloud deals by multiple vendors with AI labs. We also have modeling of how many CPUs of what types are being deployed.Intel Q4’25 DCAI Revenue. Source: IntelHowever, Intel’s recent rallies and changing demand signals in the latter part of 2025 have shown that CPUs are now relevant again. In their latest Q4 earnings, Intel saw an unexpected uptick in datacenter CPU demand in late 2025 and are increasing 2026 capex guidance…