Intel CEO is optimistic that AI will drive PC sales

At the recent “Intel Innovation Taipei 2023” technology forum, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger eloquently shared the company’s visionary blueprint for the development of its artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. He engaged with the press openly and did not shy away from addressing external skepticism.

According to Digitimes, Gelsinger candidly acknowledged Intel’s past missteps that caused missed opportunities and allowed competitors to gain a foothold—such as failing to capitalize on the smartphone business, prematurely discontinuing a nascent AI-focused GPU architecture, and not prioritizing the development of their semiconductor foundry operations. He admitted that Intel’s previous stance was not customer-centric but rather self-perceived as a technological vanguard, sometimes coming across as overly arrogant and demanding to clients. This attitude also mistakenly permeated internal management, leading to critical decision-making errors, resulting in a loss of market share and a continual drain of talent.

Gelsinger believes that Intel has realized the need to evolve with the times, to align with customer needs, and to contribute to their success. Intel still retains many core strengths, which must be harnessed while emphasizing timely deliveries and a disciplined culture as fundamental tenets to restore customer confidence.

In the past few months, artificial intelligence has been the industry’s buzzword, with rapid advancements positioning it as a potential savior for the PC market. Gelsinger highlighted Intel’s long-standing close partnership with Microsoft and the inception of collaborations with Arm, underscoring a diverse industrial evolution. He expressed confidence that within the next two years, AI-powered PCs could reach a shipment milestone of 100 million units, with Intel leading with the most robust product roadmap.

The current debate on what precisely defines an AI PC persists, and users have yet to fully experience the applications driven by artificial intelligence technologies. Gelsinger aspires for Intel to recreate its past glory—akin to how it revolutionized the market two decades ago with the “Centrino” brand, which integrated the CPU, chipset, and wireless network module into a synergistic platform—this time harnessing the momentum of artificial intelligence.