Intel's Data Center & AI Investor Webinar Key Takeaways

Intel & DCAI are on track to democratize a healthy, vibrant AI ecosystem with competitive products

Intel hosted a webinar on March 30 to provide a deeper dive into the company’s DCAI group, formed by the recent merger of the original Data Center Group with parts of the now-disbanded Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG).

For some context, AXG was created by CEO Pat Gelsinger back in June 2021 for the express purpose of accelerating the company’s growth in high performance computing and graphics:

Raja Koduri, a well-known innovator in GPU computing technology, will lead the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, a newly formed business unit that will increase the company’s focus in the key growth areas of high performance computing and graphics. AXG is chartered with delivering HPC and graphics solutions for integrated and discrete segments across client, enterprise and data center. Koduri previously served as Intel’s general manager of Architecture, Graphics and Software.

Then, in December 2022, in a complete reversal of this organisational decision, the group was disbanded and the component pieces separately moved into the Client Computing and Data Center groups:

Discrete graphics and accelerated computing are critical growth engines for Intel. With our flagship products now in production, we are evolving our structure to accelerate and scale their impact and drive go-to-market strategies with a unified voice to customers. This includes our consumer graphics teams joining our client computing group, and our accelerated computing teams joining our datacenter and AI group. In addition, Raja Koduri will return to the Intel Chief Architect role to focus on our growing efforts across CPU, GPU and AI, and accelerating high priority technical programs.”

Koduri recently quit Intel rather abruptly, as we reported here. His replacement as Intel Chief Architect has not been announced.

Our Take: It’s not a good look when the organisation you established to lead the company’s charge in high performance computing and graphics gets disbanded after 18 months and its leader departs abruptly shortly thereafter.

Before we get into the details of the webinar, I think it’s worthy of note that it was hosted by just four people, Sandra Rivera, head of DCAI, Lisa Spelman, head of the Xeon product group, Greg Lavender the company’s latest Chief Technology officer and top software guy and John Pitzer, head of IR.

Thus, the webinar was heavily skewed towards the CPU and software side of DCAI. Given the importance of Intel’s newly launched GPUs, their FPGA offerings, the Gaudi accelerators etc, it seems really odd that they didn’t merit even a brief appearance from their respective heads. I also don’t get why nobody raised this rather obvious point during the Q&A session.

Anyway, on to the key takeaways from the webinar- let’s dig in.