Today, let’s talk about Intel, which is celebrating its 56th anniversary.
Intel was born in Silicon Valley on July 18, 1968. In the nearly sixty years since then, it can be said that Silicon Valley has made Intel, and Intel has also made Silicon Valley.
No industry or field remains unchanged, and no company can remain unchanged. In the new century and under the new situation, Intel has also faced great changes and ups and downs, but has never stopped seeking innovation in constant exploration.
The strategic transformation of IDM 2.0 and the layout of the new era of AI are all like this.
1. History: Intel = PC
Intel has a broad and far-reaching impact on the entire PC industry.
Especially in the field of x86 processors, the world's first commercial microprocessor 4004 was produced by Intel. That was in 1971, when Intel had only been established for three years.
Since then, Intel processors have been firmly tied to the PC industry. 386, Pentium, Celeron, and Core have all become synonymous with PC processors. The myth of “i3 is the best in every way” is unprecedented and has been talked about for a long time.
Entering the new era, amid fierce industry competition, Intel has made unprecedented radical breakthroughs in both process technology and core architecture.
In terms of process technology, Intel proposed the “Four years and five process nodesThe grand plan of ” has no precedent in history, and it is progressing very smoothly: Intel 7 and Intel 4 have been mass-produced and shipped, Intel 3 and Intel 20A have been put into production and application this year, Intel 18A is coming soon, and the more advanced Intel 14A will be released later.
At the same time, Intel has introduced external processes on the one hand and opened up external foundry on the other. It has established the world's first system-level foundry service to adapt to the new era of AI and is winning customer orders one after another.
In terms of core architecture, Intel has introduced the 12th generation CoreHeterogeneous hybrid architectureflexibly adapt to different application scenarios; the new Core Ultra has introducedSeparate architecturechip design is more flexible; the new generation of Xeon 6 is divided into two approaches, energy efficiency core and performance core.
Of course, a PC is not just a processor, it also has various accessories and technologies, and Intel's shadow can be seen everywhere in history.
For decades, Intel has participated in and led hundreds of standards bodies and industry organizations, taking the lead in developing a large number of technical standards that have profoundly transformed entire industries and our daily lives.
There are a lot of familiar examples, such as USB interface, Wi-Fi wireless network, ATX motherboard and power supply, AGP/PCI/PCIe transmission bus, AC97 audio, SSE/AVX instruction set, UEFI BIOS, Thunderbolt interface… the list is too numerous to count.
On this basis, Intel's other major contribution is its innovative leadership in PCs, especially notebooks. Almost every change is closely related to Intel. The highlight moment is Centrino, which truly opened up the popularization of notebooks and Wi-Fi wireless among the people.
UMPC portable notebooks, Ultrabook ultrabooks, CULV thin and light notebooks, Netbook netbooks, design notebooks, Evo certification, and the currently popular AI PC, each time has promoted the transformation of notebooks, otherwise we would not be able to entertain, work, and create so conveniently anytime and anywhere.
2. Transformation: Persisting in a difficult but correct path
No matter how powerful a company is, the world is always changing. There is only one outcome for those who stick to the old ways, which is being eliminated. If they don't want to be swept away by the tide of the times, there is only one way out, which is to keep transforming and keeping up.
Speaking of which, everyone assumes that Intel is a processor chip company, but in fact, Intel's main business when it was first established was SRAM and DRAM memory chips.
Even though Intel created its first microprocessor in 1971, its core business was storage for more than 20 years until the 1990s!
The 1980s were crucial for Intel. It was during that period that Intel decisively seized the opportunity of the rise of PCs, vigorously developed its processor business, and established its status in the industry in one fell swoop. It is a textbook example of corporate transformation.
Today, the processor is still the cornerstone of the PC, but times have changed. PCs require different chips, different industries require different chips, and even chip manufacturing itself is completely different from before.
When Intel's manufacturing business was facing difficulties, many investors, practitioners, media and even ordinary users suggested that Intel should decisively split up its independent wafer fabs and become a pure chip design company to lighten its load.
This seems to be very logical and the only way out, and there are many precedents. However, for Intel, directly selling the wafer fab can make the financial statements look better, but it will also lose its core competitiveness forever and will not be able to completely control its destiny in its own hands.
Finally, Intel found a new path of its own.The IDM 2.0 strategy was proposed in 2021.
Compared with IDM 1.0, which vertically integrates chip design and manufacturing, the new strategy is a three-pronged approach:
First, expand internal manufacturing capabilities and maintain the leading position in semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, and “five process nodes in four years” is a key part of this;
The second is to introduce third-party wafer fabs to more flexibly outsource the production of some products. Products such as Core Ultra processors and Arc graphics cards have been successfully applied.
The third is to establish Intel Foundry, which provides comprehensive foundry services for Intel products and external customers based on industry standards. Intel 18A node has already won customers one after another.
At first glance, such a complex multiple transformation strategy is “asking for trouble” for itself. It requires a lot of real money for long-term investment, which affects profits, and it also requires quickly proving its capabilities to the industry. But for Intel, this is a peak that must be conquered. Climbing is indeed painful, but once you reach the top of the mountain, you can truly see all the other mountains, truly open up a broad road, and truly control your own future.
Not everyone has this courage.
The past three years have proven that Intel is on the right track. All its commitments are being fulfilled in an orderly manner. The voices of doubt are gradually subsiding, and Intel's own confidence has greatly increased.
3. AI: Providing a full range of services for thousands of industries AI PC leads the third revolution
I just mentioned AI. With the emergence of large models and the popularization of generative AI, almost all technology and Internet companies are now investing in AI. Calls for “All in AI” are heard one after another, and Intel is naturally also actively participating in this trend.
However, AI, which has a history of nearly 70 years of development, cannot achieve success on a whim. It requires strength, vision, individuality, and differentiation.
Facing this wave of AI, Intel has clearly positioned itself, which is to provide customized service solutions that best match the needs for the implementation of AI applications in thousands of industries.
In fact, Intel has always believed that digitalization and intelligence are the future of the industry, and has been planning AI very early. Therefore, it has a full-stack AI platform and open and diverse software tools, which can provide customers with rich choices, good cost-effectiveness, and an open ecosystem for AI deployment, truly making AI ubiquitous.
In terms of computing infrastructure, Intel is one of the very few leaders that can provide full-stack, integrated hardware and software, cloud-edge-end AI solutions. It also pioneered system-level foundry for the AI era and actively practices AI in its own production and operations.
For example, the fourth and fifth generation Xeon integrated independent AI accelerators are still the only general-purpose CPU processors that dare to compete in MLPer performance tests and achieve excellent results.
For example, the new Xeon 6, for the first time, has both energy-efficiency cores and performance cores, which can more specifically meet the needs of large-scale AI deployment in data centers.
For example, the Core Ultra processor represents the biggest change in the history of Intel's microprocessors and ushers in a new era of AI PCs. The upcoming Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake will quickly push AI PCs to a small climax. It is estimated that by 2025, 100 million PCs will have AI features.
AI PC can also be regarded as the third major revolution in PC history led by Intel after multimedia PC and Internet PC.
With its unparalleled industry appeal, Intel's efforts and contributions to the AI PC application ecosystem are obvious to all. Through a series of initiatives such as the AI PC Acceleration Program, AI PC Developer Program, and AI PC Innovation Application Competition, AI PC has not just remained a concept, but has been quickly implemented in every corner of life, work, and industry, truly changing people's daily lives.
It is worth mentioning that Intel is also actively contributing its own strength to the booming development of new energy vehicles.The new smart cockpit vehicle platform solution and AI-enhanced software-defined automotive SoC chip can help customers explore new smart car experiences.
For example, Zeekr Auto signed an in-depth cooperation agreement with Intel in April last year. At the beginning of this year, it became the first vehicle customer to adopt Intel's software-defined automotive SoC, bringing the AIGC experience to the next generation of new energy vehicles.
Conclusion
Over the past half century, Intel has created countless brilliant moments, but no matter how brilliant they are, they have become history.
At the forefront of the new era, even top leading companies like Intel are facing the crisis of being surpassed and eliminated at any time. The only way out is to keep up with the situation, transform at any time, and constantly innovate and break through.
We can't say that Intel has done a perfect job, but given its size, Intel has demonstrated tremendous courage and perseverance, and has set an example for the industry. The resolute implementation of the IDM 2.0 strategy and the rapid development of AI layout are the best examples.
Perhaps, this is what a “century-old enterprise” should look like.
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Editor in charge: Shangfang WenQ