Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) is set on dominating markets that are bound to become massive cash mines in the future. There is significant growth expected from its Data Center business. The company recently announced it would dedicate $250 million to the development of self-driving car systems. The chip maker is also gunning to secure a stronghold in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Analysts are confident about Intel’s capacity to rake in the IoT segment in the process.
For years, PCs have been Intel’s workhorse market. However, the company has made obvious and aggressive investments in emerging technology. These promise to push its boost top-end growth in the near-term. As the chip-making giant’s personal computer business loses momentum, new ventures take center stage.
Intel Corp. recently announced a range of technologies, products and investments that will push it to the core of IoT, autonomous driving and AI. According to Markets And Markets, artificial intelligence is expected to become a $5.05 billion business by 2020. Intel plans to become a key producer in processing units for AI technologies and their related applications.
The adoption of AI and IoT
The demand for AI tech in varying applications has become massive in recent years. As new uses for AI continue to grow, so does its adoption. Artificial intelligence is revered for its analytic and learning uses. It is capable of drawing parallels between raw and seemingly unrelated data in order to build structured information. This extent of AI has been applied to photos, video and sound recognition. It uses can also be found on social media platforms, maps and general online content. Tech giants make use of AI techniques like machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to design systems that recognize texts, objects, sounds, movements, patterns and process that information to produce an outcome. It is no surprise that the technology is also core the world’s top virtual assistant apps.
Intel Corp. bought Saffron back in October last year. The purchase is a bid to draw in a greater share of the AI market by lending itself to the growth of IoT platforms. However, Saffron’s cognitive platform is surging into mobile gadgets and can make intelligent local decisions possible by drawing parallels from local data. The applications are many but can collectively wane conventional devices off their dependence on remote data platforms.
“Big data can happen on small devices, as long as they’re smart enough and connected,” Intel explains.
Cortana by Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc.’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and IBM’s Watson, all rely on AI algorithms to relay information to their users. Popular entities like Netflix and Pandora use AI to recommend viewing content while social networks offer catered adverting based on learned browsing patterns.
Intel lays the platform for AI
Right now, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is behind 97 percent of the servers that run AI workloads in data centers around the world. Its Xeon and Xeon Phi chip solutions are the most used processors for deep learning and training. The firm made news of it upcoming Knights Crest processors. The next gen product is in the works and will power deep learning applications. However, the Lake Crest processors will launch before them and should be made available before 2017 is up.
Intel is deeply set on strengthening itself in the AI scene. Intergrating its Xeon processors with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) is smart another power bid. The company is also doing the same with GPUs. The recently purchased Nervana platform has solidified its footprint in the AI market. Nervana was adopted in August this year and makes headway in accelerating deep learning processes.
Intel Corp. assures investors that the expertise gained by taking in Nervana will allow it make revolutionary products. The firm promises to produce a “breakthrough 100-fold increase in performance in the next three years.” The business will help Intel develop complex neural networks and enable data scientists to solve their biggest AI challenges quicker.
The company brought in Altera Corp in June 2015. The gives Intel access to the FPGA market by producing the chips that power deep-learning systems. Appeal for FPGAs also lies in their capacity to be reprogrammed after they are made.
Access to the vision processing units shows Intel Corp.’s (NASDAQ:INTC) desire to grow several visual-based AI applications like those currently in autonomous driving systems. VPUs are a vital element in virtual reality scene as well.
