• IBM Power11 Launch Details: IBM officially announced the launch of Power11 on July 25. The 32 AI-core Spyre Accelerator is expected to follow in the fourth quarter. The launch products include the full-rack Power E1180 with up to 256 SMT-8 Power11 cores and 128MB of shared L3 (8MB per core), midrange 4U Power E1150 with up to 120 Power11 cores and 16TB of DDR5, junior 4U Power S1124 with up to 60 Power11 cores and 8MB of L3 per core and 8TB of DDR5, and "low-end" 2U Power S1122 with up to 60 Power11 cores and 4TB of DDR5. The processors come in 16, 24, or 30-core versions. The E systems have four sockets and the S systems have two. All systems can run AIX and Linux, and except for the E1150, can run IBM i.
• OMI and Memory: The "meet the family" document from IBM's press release mentions only DDR5 RAM and says nothing about OMI. However, IBM has made it clear that Power11 will continue to have OMI. We don't know if the OMI firmware for Power11 is open and libre, if the Synopsys IP blocks used in Power10's I/O are still present, or if the "low-end" binned CPUs are different in this regard.
• Third-Party Systems: If there will be third-party Power11 systems, they generally follow six to twelve months after the IBM launch. We have heard little from Raptor since the SolidSilicon S1 and X1. Adapting Power11 to next-generation Power ISA workstations is possible. Creating a T3 based on Blueridge could be the best way for Raptor to regain the top slot in OpenPOWER workstations if the architecture is still open.
• Update: An anonymous individual with knowledge of the situation advised that a new Raptor announcement on products under development is scheduled for Q1 2026, which is six to twelve months after the expected time. "Open firmware" is specifically mentioned and planned. Both Raptor and SolidSilicon are now listed as top-tier Platinum members for OpenPOWER parallel with IBM, suggesting SolidSilicon is still in the mix and IBM is still backing OpenPOWER. This is not an official announcement.