John Bruno
John Bruno is a chip platform architect and ASIC design expert who worked on graphics chips and Fusion processors at ATI and AMD, then founded and led Apple’s silicon competitive analysis group. In 2019 he co-founded the server chip company Nuvia with Gerard Williams IIIGerard Williams IIIGerard Williams III is a microprocessor architect and chip entrepreneur who served as chief architect for all of Apple’s CPU and SoC development, leading Apple’s processor cores from the A7 to the A12X. He co-founded the server chip company Nuvia in 2019, became Qualcomm’s SVP of Engineering after Qualcomm acquired Nuvia for about $1.4 billion in 2021, and in 2026 co-founded the CPU design company Nuvacore, where he is president and CEO.Open the full entry and Manu Gulati, was responsible for system architectures after Nuvia joined QualcommQualcommQualcomm is a semiconductor and wireless technology company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985 by Irwin Jacobs and six other former Linkabit colleagues, it built its business on CDMA technology and now rests on two pillars: its Snapdragon chip platforms and the licensing of cellular standard-essential patents. It has faced antitrust investigations and litigation in many jurisdictions, and in recent years has expanded into automotive, IoT, PCs and AI data centers.Open the full entry, and in 2026 co-founded the CPU design company NuvacoreNuvacoreNuvacore is a chip design startup headquartered in Santa Clara, California, founded by Gerard Williams III, John Bruno, and Ram Srinivasan, who had worked together at Apple, Nuvia, and Qualcomm. It launched publicly in April 2026 with the backing of Sequoia Capital and is designing a new general-purpose CPU core from a clean sheet for AI infrastructure and data centers; as of October 2026, it had not yet released a product.Open the full entry, where he is SVP of Systems and Strategy.
Contents9 sections
Key facts
Early Life: ATI and AMD
Bruno began his career at the graphics chip company ATI, working on chip design for the Radeon and Rage series of graphics cards. After AMD acquired ATI, he rose to become a chief engineer at AMD, leading the design of Fusion processors, and was responsible for developing the Trinity APU.[1][2][2][3]
July 2012Joins Apple
In July 2012, Apple hired Bruno as a system architect. He spent five years in Apple’s platform architecture group and founded and led Apple’s silicon competitive analysis group, the team responsible for making sure the processors used in iPhones and iPads stayed ahead of the competition.[2][2][4][5]
December 2017Joins Google
In December 2017, Bruno left Apple and joined Google as a system architect. Google was then developing custom chips for its Pixel phones and other devices and had hired several chip engineers from Apple and Qualcomm, including former Apple SoC architect Manu Gulati, who would later found a company with him.[5][5][5][5]
February 2019Co-Founds Nuvia
In February 2019, Bruno co-founded Nuvia with Manu Gulati and Gerard Williams, with the goal of creating the world’s leading server processor. In November 2019, Nuvia emerged from stealth, announcing $53 million in funding while developing a processor code-named Phoenix; in September 2020, it closed a $240 million Series B round.[6][4][4][4][6]
2021Joins Qualcomm with Nuvia
On January 13, 2021, Qualcomm announced it would acquire Nuvia for approximately $1.4 billion (before working capital and other adjustments), and Bruno, the other two founders, and their employees joined Qualcomm. At Qualcomm, he was responsible for system architectures, continuing to work with Williams, who became SVP of Engineering.[7][7][7][8]
April 15, 2026Co-Founds Nuvacore
On April 15, 2026, Nuvacore, which Bruno co-founded with Gerard Williams III and Ram SrinivasanRam SrinivasanRam Srinivasan is a microprocessor and SoC architect specializing in high-throughput CPU/SoC architectures and performance modeling, whose career includes Los Alamos National Laboratory, Intel, Apple, Nuvia, and Qualcomm. In 2026 he co-founded the CPU design company Nuvacore with Gerard Williams III and John Bruno, serving as SVP of Performance.Open the full entry, launched publicly with the backing of Sequoia Capital. Bruno is co-founder and SVP of Systems and Strategy, helping guide the company’s architecture, execution, and long-term product direction.[9][9][10][10]
Expertise
Nuvacore describes Bruno as a seasoned platform architect, ASIC design expert, and systems leader with extensive experience bringing complex new architectures and their accompanying platforms and products to market at enormous scale.[10]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Nuvacore: Official website: https://nuvacore.ai/ (opens in a new window).[12]
Sources
- Google Snaps Up a Key Chip Designer From Apple (opens in a new window)
- Apple Hires Another Top AMD Engineer as ‘System Architect’ (opens in a new window)
- „The worlds fastest CPU Cores“: Nuvacore verspricht ARM, RISC-V und x86 auf Basis einer Architektur (opens in a new window)
- Three former Apple execs create new chip company, will compete with Intel and AMD (opens in a new window)
- Google Nabs Apple Engineer To Help With Its Own Chip Development (opens in a new window)
- NUVIA Raises $240M Series B Funding as it Accelerates Plans to Deliver Industry Leading CPU Performance to the Data Center (opens in a new window)
- Qualcomm to Acquire NUVIA (opens in a new window)
- Renowned chip developers plan revolutionary AI CPU with new company Nuvacore (opens in a new window)
- Engineered for Altitude. NUVACORE is a reset. (opens in a new window)
- John Bruno — Co-Founder & SVP, Systems & Strategy · NUVACORE (opens in a new window)
- Exclusive-Sequoia-backed chip startup Nuvacore raising funds at about a $2.5 billion valuation, sources say (opens in a new window)
- NUVACORE | The Core of What’s Next (opens in a new window)