Intel has made a groundbreaking announcement during the Intel Innovation keynote, introducing the Intel Core Ultra series of processors, poised to usher in the era of the “AI PC.” These processors, codenamed Meteor Lake, will mark Intel’s debut in providing consumer-grade chips equipped with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) designed to power AI-driven tasks for consumers. Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, shared this exciting news during the keynote and revealed that these processors are set to hit the market on December 14 of this year.
Gelsinger emphasized the transformative impact of AI on the PC experience, stating, “AI will fundamentally transform, reshape, and restructure the PC experience – unleashing personal productivity and creativity through the power of the cloud and PC working together. We are ushering in a new age of the AI PC.”
The Intel Core Ultra series, in addition to its dedicated NPU and acclaimed “power-efficient performance” made possible by advanced 7nm Intel 4 process technology, will feature an enhanced integrated GPU leveraging Intel Arc graphics architecture. Although the chips themselves have not yet been physically examined, the improved GPU alone holds the potential to position these processors as top contenders for 2023, particularly for budget-friendly systems not requiring a dedicated GPU.
A noteworthy design feature of the Core Ultra series is the adoption of a multi chiplet module (MCM) design, representing a substantial shift in Intel’s processor architecture. This innovative approach involves bonding two or more silicon slices, each housing the critical transistors that power computers (known as dies), at a microscopic level. This enables more flexible chip development compared to the traditional monolithic silicon slabs utilized by companies in the past.
Intel’s MCM design is reinforced by its Foveros packaging technology, the same technology that was employed in the Lakefield chip, although with more favorable outcomes anticipated this time. Despite Lakefield’s challenges, Intel is placing significant confidence in this technology to drive its future chip development.
The Intel Innovation conference this year also includes an update to Intel’s distribution of the OpenVINO AI toolkit. This toolkit offers developers a standardized framework for building AI applications and will harness the capabilities of Intel’s new hardware. The latest version, 2023.1, is optimized to leverage the NPU within the Intel Core Ultra processor. This optimization is expected to facilitate the development of AI applications for PCs equipped with Core Ultra chips, making the process more accessible and appealing for both developers and consumers.
Jerry Kao, Chief Operating Officer of Acer, showcased the potential of Intel’s Core Ultra by demonstrating an Acer Swift laptop running a Core Ultra chip. The system employed a Stable Diffusion generative AI-powered application to transform a basic photo of a ballerina into a dynamically generated image within minutes. This example underscores the opportunities for generative AI, multimedia applications, device personalization, and advanced settings controls that specialized hardware like the Core Ultra can enable.
While Intel’s Core Ultra may not be the first consumer chip with an NPU (Apple introduced it in 2017 with the A11 Bionic chip), it represents a significant step for Intel in embracing AI. The integration of the OpenVINO toolkit encourages developers to explore innovative applications for this NPU. While Intel may not have a groundbreaking “killer app” yet, this move aligns with the growing importance of AI in the tech industry and holds promise for future advancements.
Intel’s venture into the NPU realm is a strategic move, and as developers tap into the potential of this dedicated hardware, it may unlock exciting possibilities for the AI PC. With its December launch date approaching, the Intel Core Ultra series is poised to redefine the PC experience and push the boundaries of what consumers can achieve with AI-driven computing.
