Intel, the leading technology company, has made significant strides in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, Intel unveiled new AI-focused platforms, solutions, and services, showcasing its commitment to AI across diverse domains. The announcements included the introduction of the latest Intel vPro processors for enterprise PCs, equipped with enhanced AI processing capabilities. This development follows Intel’s recent event where it shared progress on contract chip manufacturing with its Intel Foundry business.
During the MWC, Intel’s key customers and partners showcased cutting-edge systems and solutions aimed at modernizing and monetizing future infrastructure. These demonstrations spanned hardware, software, and services, highlighting Intel’s dedication to innovation and collaboration. One notable introduction was the future Intel Xeon processor, codenamed Granite Rapids-D, which features built-in AI acceleration. This processor underwent first-call validation with key partners, solidifying Intel’s commitment to delivering high-performance AI solutions.
Intel also demonstrated its collaboration with 5G core software suppliers by showcasing the next-generation Intel Xeon processor for 5G core, codenamed Sierra Forest. This processor exhibited a remarkable 2.7 times performance improvement per rack, emphasizing Intel’s dedication to advancing 5G technology. Additionally, Intel introduced the Intel Edge Platform, an open and modular software platform that empowers enterprises to build, deploy, and manage edge and AI solutions with ease. The platform offers cloud-like simplicity and extends AI benefits to commercial designs through the latest Intel vPro platform.
Intel’s focus on AI and automation aligns with the evolving technological landscape. The company aims to provide its customers, partners, and the broader ecosystem with solutions that improve total cost of ownership (TCO), operational efficiency, and introduce new innovations and services. Sachin Katti, Senior Vice President of the Network and Edge Group at Intel, stated that Intel’s strategy integrates general-purpose compute and acceleration for networking, AI, and virtualized radio access network (vRAN) workloads. This integration allows Intel to deliver market-leading products for 5G core and vRAN, further solidifying its position in the industry.
One of the significant developments showcased by Intel is the integration of AI into enterprise PCs through the Intel vPro processors. This advancement will enable businesses to harness the power of AI for improved productivity and enhanced user experiences. Intel also introduced the 4th Gen Intel Xeon processors with Intel vRAN Boost, which can double the capacity for vRAN workloads compared to previous generations while reducing vRAN compute power consumption by 20%. Additionally, Intel provided a glimpse into the future with Granite Rapids-D, a Xeon processor featuring the latest P-cores, promising significant gains in performance and power efficiency for vRAN applications.
Intel’s commitment to the 5G core workloads is evident through the introduction of the next-gen Intel Xeon processor Sierra Forest. This processor utilizes up to 288 Efficient-cores (E-cores) on a single chip, emphasizing improved performance and power efficiency. Intel also promises broad availability and industry adoption of its Infrastructure Power Manager software, which enables operators to reduce CPU power while maintaining key telco performance metrics.
To meet the evolving needs of enterprises at the edge, Intel introduced the Intel Edge Platform. This platform offers support for heterogeneous components, policy-based management, and a built-in AI runtime with OpenVINO inference. Leveraging Intel’s extensive expertise from over 90,000 edge deployments, the platform is set to be generally available later this quarter.
Intel’s partnership with Microsoft is set to bring extended benefits of AI to commercial designs. The two companies will announce enhanced AI experiences and productivity for businesses of all sizes during MWC 2024.
In addition to these developments, Intel’s Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) will launch two new radio macro and mMIMO Enablement Packages, along with the Intel Precision Time Protocol Servo. These offerings provide flexible, low-power, low-latency, and high-throughput solutions for emerging spaces like vRAN, OpenRAN, 6G, and AI.
Intel’s focus on AI and its commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions solidify its position as a leader in the technology industry. By introducing AI processors for enterprise servers and new vPro PCs, Intel is empowering businesses to leverage AI for improved performance and productivity. With its advancements in 5G core technologies and edge computing, Intel is poised to revolutionize the way businesses operate and innovate in the future.