Intel's ambitious plan to challenge AMD and NVIDIA in the AI accelerator market may still be a little questionable, according to recent comments from interim co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus at the Barclays 22nd Annual Global Technology Conference. The company's "Falcon Shores" project, which aims to merge Gaudi AI capabilities with Intel's data center GPU technology for HPC workloads, received surprising commentary from Holthaus. "We really need to think about how we go from Gaudi to our first generation of Falcon Shores, which is a GPU," she stated, before acknowledging potential limitations. "And I'll tell you right now, is it going to be wonderful? No, but it is a good first step."

Intel's pragmatic approach to AI hardware development was further highlighted when Holthaus addressed the company's product strategy. Rather than completely overhauling their development pipeline, she emphasized the value of iterative progress: "If you just stop everything and you go back to doing like all new product, products take a really long time to come to market. And so, you know, you're two years to three years out from having something." The co-CEO advocated for a more agile approach, stating, "I'd rather have something that I can do in smaller volume, learn, iterate, and get better so that we can get there." She acknowledged the enduring nature of AI market opportunities, particularly noting the current focus on training while highlighting the potential in other areas: "Obviously, AI is not going away. Obviously training is, you know, the focus today, but there's inference opportunities in other places where there will be different needs from a hardware perspective."

Intel has prepared "Jaguar Shores," its "next-next" generation AI and HPC accelerator, successor to its upcoming "Falcon Shores" GPU. Revealed during a technical workshop at the SC2024 conference, the chip was unveiled by Intel's Habana Labs division, albeit unintentionally. This announcement positions Jaguar Shores as the successor to Falcon Shores, which is scheduled to launch next year. While details about Jaguar Shores remain sparse, its designation suggests it could be a general-purpose GPU (GPGPU) aimed at both AI training, inferencing, and HPC tasks. Intel's strategy aligns with its push to incorporate advanced manufacturing nodes, such as the 18A process featuring RibbonFET and backside power delivery, which promise significant efficiency gains, so we can expect to see upcoming AI accelerators incorporating these technologies.

Intel's AI chip lineup has faced numerous challenges, including shifting plans for Falcon Shores, which has transitioned from a CPU-GPU hybrid to a standalone GPU, and cancellation of Ponte Vecchio. Despite financial constraints and job cuts, Intel has maintained its focus on developing cutting-edge AI solutions. "We continuously evaluate our roadmap to ensure it aligns with the evolving needs of our customers. While we don't have any new updates to share, we are committed to providing superior enterprise AI solutions across our CPU and accelerator/GPU portfolio." an Intel spokesperson stated. The announcement of Jaguar Shores shows Intel's determination to remain competitive. However, the company faces steep competition. NVIDIA and AMD continue to set benchmarks with performant designs, while Intel has struggled to capture a significant share of the AI training market. The company's Gaudi lineup ends with third generation, and Gaudi IP will get integrated into Falcon Shores.