In an interview with Chinese media Sina, Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, emphasized that AI is the most revolutionary technology in the past 50 years. She believes that AI-powered PCs will play a crucial role in driving the growth of the PC market this year.

Su led AMD’s AI PC Innovation Summit in Beijing last week, showcasing the development momentum within China’s AI PC ecosystem. She shared these insights during interviews with Sina, which was then published on March 26th.

Lisa Su asserts that AI is propelling a revolution, marking the most transformative technology in nearly 50 years, swiftly reshaping all facets of the tech industry. From data centers to AI-powered PCs and edge computing, AMD is excited about the opportunities presented by this new era of computing.

Su emphasizes that PCs serve as the daily tools for users to interact with AI through personalized experiences. Leveraging Ryzen AI’s leading edge and extensive ecosystem partnerships, AMD aims to deliver seamless AI experiences from the cloud to the PC.

Lisa Su acknowledges that the global PC market saw a decline post-pandemic, but anticipates some level of growth this year, driven by AI-powered PCs prompting consumers to upgrade their devices.

She believes that while most AI PCs currently target the high-end segment, over time, they are expected to penetrate every price range.

Regarding the applications of AI PCs, Su finds communication, productivity, and creativity particularly exciting. Many applications are still in their early stages, but she expects to see more developments in the coming years.

Lisa Su also mentioned a compelling incentive for people to upgrade to AI PCs: increased efficiency. She posed a question to the media, asking if users would be willing to purchase an AI PC if it could save them 5 hours of work per week. In her view, “everyone’s answer would be YES.”

AMD is strategically positioning itself in the AI market. In December last year, it announced that its accelerated processing unit (APU) MI300A had entered mass production, while the AI accelerator GPU MI300X had begun shipping. Meanwhile, its new Ryzen 8040 series laptop processors have also hit the market, aiming to capture the AI PC market.

To deliver AI experience on PCs, AMD utilizes three computing engines: CPU based on Zen architecture, GPU based on RDNA architecture, and the XDNA-based AI engine, also known as the Neural Processing Unit (NPU). Additionally, its Ryzen 8040 series processors offer leading-edge computing and AI experiences. By the end of this year, the company plans to engage over 150 independent software vendors in developing for Ryzen AI.

TrendForce previously issued an analysis in a press release, indicating that the AI PC market is propelled by two key drivers: Firstly, demand for terminal applications, mainly dominated by Microsoft through its Windows OS and Office suite, is a significant factor. Microsoft is poised to integrate Copilot into the next generation of Windows, making Copilot a fundamental requirement for AI PCs.

Secondly, Intel, as a leading CPU manufacturer, is advocating for AI PCs that combine CPU, GPU, and NPU architectures to enable a variety of terminal AI applications.

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(Photo credit: AMD)

Following NVIDIA’s GTC 2024, AMD also hosted an AI PC Innovation Summit on March 21st, with CEO Lisa Su leading the top executives in attendance. As per a report from Commercial Times, by collaborating with partners including brands ASUS, MSI, and Acer, AMD has showcased its exciting applications in AI PCs.

AMD highlights that future language models will evolve in two directions: one is the large-scale models introduced by tech giants, which use increasingly more parameters and become more complex in operation, with closed architecture being a major characteristic.

The other direction is small open-source models, which are becoming more widely accepted by the public. These models with fewer parameters can run smoothly on edge devices, especially AI PCs, expecting a significant influx of developers.

Furthermore, the AI compute requirements for large and small language models are entirely different. AMD has different hardware positioning to meet all demands.

Lisa Su emphasizes that artificial intelligence is driving a revolution, reshaping every aspect of the tech industry, from data centers to AI PCs and edge computing. AMD is excited about the opportunities presented by this new era of computing.

TrendForce previously issued an analysis in a press release, indicating that the AI PC market is propelled by two key drivers: Firstly, demand for terminal applications, mainly dominated by Microsoft through its Windows OS and Office suite, is a significant factor. Microsoft is poised to integrate Copilot into the next generation of Windows, making Copilot a fundamental requirement for AI PCs. Secondly, Intel, as a leading CPU manufacturer, is advocating for AI PCs that combine CPU, GPU, and NPU architectures to enable a variety of terminal AI applications.

Introduced around the end of 2023, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite platform is set to be the first to meet Copilot standards, with shipments expected in the second half of 2024. This platform is anticipated to deliver around 45 TOPS.

Following closely behind, AMD’s Ryzen 8000 series (Strix Point) is also expected to meet these requirements. Intel’s Meteor Lake, launched in December 2023 with a combined CPU+GPU+NPU power of 34 TOPS, falls short of Microsoft’s standards. However, Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake might surpass the 40 TOPS threshold by the end of the year.

The race among Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD in the AI PC market is set to intensify the competition between the x86 and Arm CPU architectures in the Edge AI market. Qualcomm’s early compliance with Microsoft’s requirements positions it to capture the initial wave of AI PC opportunities, as major PC OEMs like Dell, HPE, Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer develop Qualcomm CPU-equipped models in 2024, presenting a challenge to the x86 camp.

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(Photo credit: AMD)

TrendForce has released the latest panel quotations for late March. TV panel prices further grew due to the increasing purchasing power; monitor panel demand continue to rise, surpassing expectations; for notebook panel, the lack of clarity in demand release has posed challenges for panel manufacturers to gauge price hikes, forcing them to maintain current prices to avoid further declines.

More details are as follows:

• TV

In March, the purchasing power of TV brands further increased, driving a 7% quarterly growth in procurement for major brands in the first quarter. This also led to a rebound in panel manufacturers’ utilization rates to over 80%.

With the upcoming sports events in the second quarter, new product stocking, and promotional activities like China’s 618 sales, panel prices are expected to rise further. Despite the traditional off-season in the first quarter, brand procurement remains strong, with TV panel prices expected to see expanded increases in March.

Anticipated increases include 1 USD for 32-inch, 2 USD for 43-inch and 50-inch, 3 USD for 55-inch, and 5 USD for 65-inch and 75-inch.

• Monitor

In March, the ongoing price hikes in TV panels have prompted some panel manufacturers to reallocate resources towards TV products. Additionally, while standard surveillance monitor panels continue to incur losses, sales of TV and laptop panels are profitable. This may lead to a reluctance among panel manufacturers to produce surveillance monitor panels.

On the demand side, due to the red sea crisis, some brands need to increase their inventory levels. Coupled with warming demand in certain regional markets and the anticipation of panel price hikes and potential supply shortages, current panel demand orders continue to rise, surpassing expectations. This trend is driving an upward trajectory in panel prices. LCD monitor panel prices, including Open Cell panels and panel modules, are expected to rebound across the board in March.

Open Cell panel prices are projected to increase by approximately 0.5 USD, while prices for 23.8-inch and 27-inch panel modules are expected to rise by 0.3 USD to 0.5 USD.

• Notebook

Entering March, the notebook panel market has reached the end of the first quarter’s off-season. It is currently expected that inventory demand will gradually strengthen from the second quarter onwards. Meanwhile, TV panel prices have been on the rise since February, and monitor (MNT) panel prices are expected to increase from March. These factors have heightened expectations for price hikes in notebook panels.

However, brands are currently relatively conservative in releasing demand, perceiving a sluggish momentum. This lack of clarity in demand release has made it difficult for panel manufacturers to gauge price hikes, leaving them with no choice but to maintain panel prices to prevent further declines.

The expected price trend for notebook panels in March indicates that 16:9 panel models will remain stable overall, while 16:10 panel models may experience slight downward pressure, with anticipated decreases ranging from 0.2 USD to 0.3 USD.

Read more

• [Insights] Late February Panel Prices Update, TV Panel Prices Return to Rising Trend
• [Insights] Early February Panel Prices Update, TV Panel Returns to an Upward Pricing Trend

Intel has reportedly retained the export licenses that would have prohibited them from selling laptop processor (CPU) chips to the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. This signifies that Intel has temporarily preserved its business of providing chips worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Huawei.

According to sources cited by Reuters on March 12th, the US placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019, alleging violations of US sanctions. However, at the end of 2020, the US Department of Commerce granted special licenses to some US suppliers, including Intel, allowing them to sell certain technology products to Huawei.

Still, some sources cited in the report believe that Intel’s license is expected to expire later this year and is unlikely to be renewed.

The sources cited in the same report also stated that Intel’s competitor, AMD, had applied for a similar license to sell comparable chips in early 2021 but did not receive approval from the US Department of Commerce. AMD subsequently protested, claiming that the US government’s differential treatment was unfair.

Regarding this matter, Intel, Huawei, the Commerce Department and the White House declined to comment. AMD did not respond to a request for comment.

As per TrendForce, Intel is forecasted to hold a market share of 68.8% in the CPU market in 2024, while AMD is expected to have a share of 20.2%.

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(Photo credit: iStock)

Shortly after the release of the MacBook Air with the built-in M3 chip, a report from MacRumors has cited the report that Apple is already working on the development of the next-generation M4 chip, expected to be launched next year.

As per Mark Gurman revealed in a Q&A with Bloomberg, Apple has officially commenced the development of the M4 chip, which is expected to debut alongside the next-generation MacBook Pro. Reportedly, there’s a possibility that the M4 chip may adopt TSMC’s 2nm process. TSMC’s related process is scheduled to undergo first tool-in this year and commence mass production next year.

As per MacRumors’ report, following the introduction of the first in-house developed M1 chip by Apple in November 2020, Apple has consistently pursued chip upgrades. In June 2022, Apple unveiled the M2 chip, followed by the release of the M3 chip at the end of October last year.

With approximately a year and a half gap between each generation of chips, it is speculated by MacRumors that Apple will unveil the M4 chip in the first half of next year. Some sources cited in the report also believe that Apple’s accumulated experience in chip development in recent years may enable them to shorten the development timeline, potentially leading to the announcement of the M4 chip by the end of this year.

However, compared to the 3nm process used in the M3 chip, the 3nm process of the M4 chip could be an upgraded version, with improvements in both computational capability and energy efficiency.

During the earnings call in the fourth quarter of 2023, TSMC announced that its 2-nanometer process (N2) would utilize Nanosheet transistor structures and is anticipated to commence mass production in 2025, so the M4 chip may still adopt the 3nm process.

As for TSMC’s 2-nanometer process, a previous report from wccftech has indicated that Apple is expected to adopt the 2nm process for chip production in the iPhone 17 by 2025.

Read more

• [News] The Imminent Arrival of 2-Nanometer Advanced Process
• [News] Apple Reportedly Places Large Orders for TSMC’s 3nm While Simultaneously Securing Significant Advanced Packaging Capacity

(Photo credit: Apple)