As Intel works to engineer a turnaround, its chief executive has pledged a major shift in strategy by moving into a type of chip long dominated by rival Nvidia.
Speaking at the Cisco AI Summit on Tuesday, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company plans to begin manufacturing graphics processing units (GPUs). Unlike the central processing units (CPUs) Intel is best known for, GPUs are designed for highly specialized workloads such as gaming and training artificial intelligence models.
According to Reuters, the initiative will be led by Kevork Kechichian, Intel’s executive vice president and head of its data center group. Kechichian joined the company in September as part of a wave of new hires focused on strengthening Intel’s engineering leadership.
Intel also brought in Eric Demers in January to support the effort. Demers previously spent more than 13 years at Qualcomm, where he most recently served as senior vice president of engineering.
The project appears to be at an early stage. Tan indicated that Intel intends to shape its GPU strategy around customer requirements and market demand.
Although Nvidia did not invent the GPU, the technology has been central to its rise. Its AI-focused GPUs are widely regarded as industry-leading, helping the company secure a dominant position in the market.
