Intel Unleashes AI Powerhouse: New Program Aims to Empower ISVs and Revolutionize PCs
“We believe this is going to unlock 100 million AI PCs over the next couple of years by 2025, a scale that our competition can’t reach,”
Andrew Marsee, general manager of Intel Partner Alliance, told CRN
Intel is ramping up its efforts to supercharge the AI PC revolution by equipping over 100 independent software vendors (ISVs) with extensive engineering, design, and marketing resources.
This initiative, unveiled Thursday, is part of Intel’s groundbreaking “AI PC Acceleration Program,” which promises to fundamentally transform the PC experience as envisioned by CEO Pat Gelsinger.
Set to coincide with the release of Intel’s first Core Ultra laptop processors, codenamed Meteor Lake, this program is poised to usher in a new era of AI-powered PCs.
The more than 100 ISVs, including big names like Adobe, Zoom Video Communications, and Cisco Systems, are working on over 300 AI-enhanced features for PCs.
Zoom, for instance, plans to leverage the neural processing unit (NPU) in the upcoming Core Ultra processors to enhance image and audio AI workloads, thus improving the videoconferencing experience.
“Intel’s adoption of the NPU across their roadmap means the Zoom experience will benefit from improved power efficiency for AI workloads,” said Eric Yu, head of hardware partnerships at Zoom.
This initiative builds on Intel’s vision, showcased at the recent Intel Innovation event, where AI-powered applications running locally on PCs demonstrated improved latency, privacy, and reduced reliance on cloud-based solutions.
Intel is not alone in this AI PC push. Rivals like AMD, with its Ryzen 7040 CPUs, and Qualcomm, with its upcoming Snapdragon X chips, are also in the race. However, Intel believes it has the edge.
“We believe this will unlock 100 million AI PCs by 2025, a scale our competition can’t reach,” said Marsee.
If successful, Intel’s AI PC Acceleration Program could spark a new wave of refresh opportunities for channel partners in both commercial and consumer segments. “This unlocks new business opportunities and models we haven’t even dreamt of yet,” Marsee added.
Program objective:
Connect Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and hardware vendors with Intel's resources.
Available resources:
- Co-engineering: Collaboration in product development.
- Design tools: Access to advanced design tools.
- AI toolchains: Provision of AI development toolchains.
- Technical expertise: Support from Intel's technical experts.
- Hardware access: Availability of Intel hardware for development.
- Marketing opportunities: Support in marketing and promoting products.
Goal: Help partners maximize the potential of Intel's upcoming Core Ultra processors.
Focus: Drive new AI use cases in the PC industry.
While Intel encourages the use of its tools, like OpenVINO, there are no requirements for developers to use specific frameworks. “It’s about making sure these applications work well to raise all boats,” said Robert Hallock, senior director of client technology and performance marketing at Intel.
“Our NPU is just the most flexible, which may naturally result in applications running best on Intel.”
When AI-powered applications and features are ready, Intel plans to help ISVs connect with partners to create new sales opportunities. “We will activate our channels for AI PCs, from consumer through business,” Marsee concluded.
