The AI fever is not only redefining software, it is also turning the map of power in the chip industry upside down. On this new board, the GPU has become the essential engine for building models and scaling data centers, to the point that demand has skyrocketed and placed its main manufacturers in a dominant position. For Intel, the diagnosis is difficult but evident: if the next decade of computing is decided in this area, it is not enough to protect the kingdom of the CPU.
Intel’s move. The Santa Clara company has chosen a very specific setting to begin organizing its speech. During an AI Summit organized by Cisco, the company’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, said that Intel will start producing GPUs and that it has just signed the “chief GPU architect” who will lead that effort. The manager avoided giving details about the name, but he did leave a message consistent with the moment in the sector: the GPU matters and will continue to matter.
The missing piece. According to Reuters, the talent hired by Intel is Eric Demers, from Qualcomm. On the other hand, the initiative would fall under the umbrella of Kevork Kechichian, executive vice president and head of Intel’s data center business, incorporated in September within the framework of a series of hires aimed at strengthening the company’s technical profile.
AI, before gaming. The nuance is important, because talking about GPU can automatically activate the imagination of graphics cards for gaming, but reality goes in another direction. Intel already has a graphics presence on the PC, with its Arc products, but the announcement targets GPUs for AI and data centers. The initiative as a still early plan, with a strategy that will be developed based on customer demand, a coherent approach with an AI infrastructure market where the most intense battle is being fought today.
Intel’s corporate moment. According to CNBC, the stock market value has risen in the last year due to optimism about its foundrybut the company is still mainly dedicated to manufacturing chips for its own catalog. It’s no secret that Intel has lost ground to companies driven by the AI data center wave, and is now taking steps to respond.
No relief until 2028. In the same forum, Tan slipped in another element that helps dimension the challenge of AI infrastructure. He spoke about the shortage of memory chips that is disrupting the market due to the mismatch between supply and demand, driven by the construction of AI-oriented data centers. That environment is giving manufacturers room to continue raising prices, and Tan was blunt in describing AI as the “biggest challenge” to memory. He also released an estimate that leaves little room for optimism: he stated that he does not expect “no relief until 2028.”
Images | Brecht Corbeel
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