Intel’s Strategy
Intel’s strategy to attract software developers is similar to how graphics vendors collaborate with game developers to add GPU-specific features to their games, thereby enhancing performance. However, it remains unclear what AI offerings software vendors will provide. Todd Lewellen, vice-president and general manager of the PC ecosystem in Intel’s Client Computing Group (CCG), stated that the company is halfway to its goal of engaging with the top 100 ISVs and has started reaching out to midrange vendors.
Carla Rodriguez, a vice-president at Intel and general manager of its client software ecosystem, added, “Goal number one here…is scaling over 100 million AI PCs through 2025 and we are well on our track to delivering to that number.”
Benefits for PC Users
As developers shift CPU-specific tasks to the NPU, PC users could save about 1.5W to 2.5W of power, which could extend battery life by an hour, according to Lewellen. Developers like Adobe are moving de-noising tasks to the integrated GPU, while Wondershare apps like Filmora are running on the CPU, GPU, and NPU together for increased performance.
However, Intel has not provided much information about its progress towards its 2024 goal of enabling 300 AI-powered software features. The company is also providing developers with an AI PC Developer Kit, an Asus NUC 14 Pro, with a Core Ultra inside.
Intel vs AMD
The situation is reminiscent of the VHS vs Betamax or HD-DVD versus Blu-ray battles. Intel’s AI toolset is OpenVINO, while AMD uses a technology called ROCm. Intel has been more public in attracting developers to use OpenVINO than AMD has with ROCm. If software developers prefer one over the other, it could determine the winner in the AI PC race.
