Intel Corp (INTC.O) introduced a new artificial intelligence processor dubbed Gaudi2 on Tuesday, as the chipmaker makes a stronger push into the AI chip market, which is presently dominated by Nvidia Corp. (NVDA.O).
Gaudi2 is Habana Labs’ second-generation CPU, which Intel purchased for $2 billion in late 2019 from an Israeli AI semiconductor firm. As AI computing has become one of the fastest expanding sectors for data centers, AI chip firms have received significant funding in recent years.
Many AI researchers and corporations utilize Nvidia’s software platform CUDA, so taking market share away from them has been difficult. So, in addition to new processors for AI computing, Intel has been concentrating on software development.
“CUDA is not a moat that Nvidia can rely on for very long,” said Eitan Medina, chief business officer of Habana Labs, noting that Intel’s software platform is open standard and free to download and use from GitHub, a software development site. “The issue now is, who can execute the job effectively?”
The Gaudi2 was twice as quick as Habana’s prior AI device, according to Medina, and was built using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (2330.TW) 7-nanometer transistor technology, as opposed to 16-nanometers earlier. The chip will be quicker and more powerful if the transistor size is smaller.
Intel also unveiled Greco, a new processor for inferencing operations, which entails using an AI system to make a forecast or identify an item.
Sandra Rivera, Intel’s data center and AI director predicted that the AI chip industry would increase at a rate of 25% per year over the next five years, reaching roughly $50 billion. “We aim to spend and develop to dominate this market,” she said, adding that software would increasingly be a focus, both for growing Intel’s staff and for acquiring other businesses.
