Transistors have shrunk over the decades, from an initial 10,000 nanometers (nm) in 1971 to 5nm in 2020. The 2nm transistors on IBM’s new chip, which is essentially a circuit of connected transistors, are much smaller than the eye can detect. The width of a human hair is 100,000nm; a red blood cell about 7,000nm; a strand of DNA about 2.5nm. Size matters: The smaller the transistors, the more fit on a chip, improving efficiency. “Every time you make things smaller, you can do more,” Khare says. IBM’s 2-nanometer chip is the winner of the enduring impact (15+ years in business) category of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.

The 2nm chip will likely raise performance across all the gadgets that use them—like our cellphones and Microsoft Xboxes—while also making them smaller and allowing for impressive new features. IBM forecasts an average increase of 45% in product performance, which could allow us to charge cellphones once every four days rather than daily, and autonomous cars to make smarter and quicker decisions. All the while, these electronics should be cheaper, because smaller means less expensive to produce.