The market for semiconductors that power everything from laptops to data centers has been dominated by Intel for decades. However, its rivals, particularly Nvidia, have outperformed it recently in terms of specialized AI processors.

CEO Pat Gelsinger provided an overview of Intel’s newest Xeon 6 server processors and additional information regarding the company’s upcoming Lunar Lake AI PC chips at a keynote address at Computex in Taiwan.

According to Gelsinger, “one of the most significant periods of innovation the industry has ever seen is being driven by AI.”

“EXPonential computing advancements that will push human potential and power the global economy for years to come are once again made possible by the magic of silicon.”

According to Gelsinger, the most optimal combination of performance, energy efficiency, and price may be found in Intel’s most recent hardware.

He said that Intel’s Gaudi systems, which are used for sophisticated AI tasks like model training, are only a third of the price of what rivals charge.

Gelsinger’s presentation came after keynote addresses by Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Lisa Su of AMD. The speeches were full of accusations and denials on which company’s products were the most AI-friendly.

Su and Amon presented their businesses’ processors for AI-enhanced personal computers in great detail.

This month saw the release of Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI PCs, which will ship with Windows that has artificial intelligence capabilities.

In addition to Microsoft, these will be sold by some of the largest manufacturers in the world, such as Dell, HP, Samsung, and Lenovo. They will also have AI capabilities that work with the device itself rather than simply the internet.

Qualcomm claimed that their AI PC chips were superior to Intel’s, a claim that Gelsinger in particular denied.

“At this point, I just want to put that to bed,” he stated. “That’s not true!”

By 2028, AI PCs are predicted to account for 80% of the PC industry, according to Intel, which cited the Boston Consulting Group.

AI-enabled island

Taiwan’s premier annual technology event, Computex, is held there. The country’s semiconductor industry is essential to the manufacturing of everything from iPhones to the servers that power ChatGPT.

Taiwanese manufacturers have become key actors in the ambitions of the world’s top tech companies, who are placing significant bets on artificial intelligence.

The majority of the world’s most sophisticated semiconductors, including those required for the most potent AI research and applications, are made on the island.

The goal of Taiwan’s government is to expedite the adoption of AI worldwide by utilizing these capabilities.

President Lai Ching-te, who took office last month, stated during a visit to Computex on Tuesday that “we have a lot to do to build Taiwan into an AI smart island.”

As the lifeblood of the contemporary economy, semiconductors, Taiwan’s important place in the supply chain has been a subject of concern in boardrooms and capitals across the globe.

Taiwan is an independent nation, but China maintains that the island is its territory and that it will never give up using force to annex the island.

The Chinese military has conducted many major drills throughout the island in recent years, and ties between Beijing and Taipei have gotten worse.