Following the announcements of AI PC processor chips by NVIDIA and Intel, AMD has also entered the fray by unveiling the Ryzen Pro 8040 and Ryzen Pro 8000 series chips. According to a report from Commercial Times, they will be manufactured by TSMC and are expected to be released in the second half of the year.

On April 16th, AMD announced that the Ryzen Pro 8040 series chip, designed for laptops, and the Ryzen Pro 8000 series chip, designed for desktops, are the most advanced commercial PC chips ever created. These chips will be manufactured using 4-nanometer technology. It is expected that new AI PCs from HP and Lenovo, starting in the second half of this year, will incorporate these two major chip series.

“AI PC” are laptops and desktops capable of directly running real-time language translation and other AI applications locally, as opposed to most PC devices on the market that rely on cloud platforms for AI computations.

Intel previously announced the Core Ultra series chips designed specifically for AI PCs last year and claimed that the first batch of over 230 AI PCs globally will feature this series of chips. Collaborating partners include major PC manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Gelsinger once expressed at a New York launch event in 2023 that they anticipate the AI PC to be the standout performer in the coming year.

NVIDIA also unveiled a new generation of AI chips in January of this year, claiming they can execute AI applications directly on PC. Collaborating partners include Acer, Dell, and Lenovo.

Similarly targeting the AI PC market, AMD previously announced the Ryzen 8000G series chips designed specifically for desktops in January. Previously, during an interview with Chinese media Sina, Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, indicated that AI-powered PCs will play a crucial role in driving the growth of the PC market this year.

As NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD vie for opportunities in the AI market, TSMC, which possesses the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing technology, emerges as the primary beneficiary. TSMC currently manufactures AI chips for NVIDIA using a 3-nanometer process and is expected to begin mass production of the next-generation 2-nanometer process starting from next year.

Read more

• [News] China Imports 32 Lithography Systems in 2 Months, Shanghai and Beijing Top Buyers
• [News] AMD Unveils Ryzen 8040 Series AI Processor Utilizing TSMC’s Advanced 4nm Process

(Photo credit: AMD)

The global laptop and PC market is experiencing a gradual recovery, driven by the growing trend of AI-powered PCs (AIPC). Consequently, as per a report from TechNews, the competition to enhance AI chip computing power has emerged as a key global focus. 

One of the competitors, Intel, during its Vision 2024 event, showcased its next-generation laptop chip, Lunar Lake. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that this chip will deliver over 100 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI performance, with the NPU alone contributing 45 TOPS. This marks a threefold increase in AI performance compared to Intel’s current generation of chips and meets the 45 TOPS NPU performance threshold previously set by Intel for the next generation of AI PCs.

Currently, Intel’s Meteor Lake processor NPU can only deliver 10 TOPS, which falls short of the standard required for the next generation of AI PCs. However, the NPU performance of Lunar Lake precisely meets the 45 TOPS standard.

Pat Gelsinger did not provide detailed breakdowns of the remaining 55+ TOPS performance between the CPU and GPU, but it can be reasonably speculated that the GPU contributes around 50 TOPS, while the CPU cores contribute 5-10 TOPS.

As for Intel’s competitors, AMD’s current-generation Ryzen Hawk Point platform offers NPU performance of 16 TOPS, which is also below Intel’s envisioned standard for the next generation of AI PCs.

However, AMD has recently indicated that their next-generation products will make significant breakthroughs to meet the demands of AI computing, incorporating a robust architecture with powerful CPU, GPU, and NPU components. This design philosophy has been consistent for AMD from the Ryzen 7040 series to the current 8040 series.

At an AI event in December last year, AMD unveiled the next-generation Ryzen Strix Point mobile processor featuring the XDNA 2 architecture, boasting a threefold increase in AI performance compared to the previous generation.

Yet, AMD has not provided detailed performance allocations for each component. Nonetheless, a simple calculation suggests that if the NPU performance triples, then the NPU performance of Ryzen Strix Point would reach 48 TOPS.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite platform represents another competitor in the escalating competition, with chips based on ARM-based architecture scheduled to launch in mid-2024. Qualcomm has stated that its NPU performance will reach 45 TOPS, further heightening the competition among Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for dominance in the next generation of AI computing.

Read more

• [News] AMD Hosts Innovation Summit, CEO Lisa Su Highlights the Beginning of AIPC Era
• [News] PC Market on the Rise, Tremendous Potential for AIPC Next Year

(Photo credit: Intel)

With the rapid advancement of AI-powered PC chips, industry giants like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm, alongside various brands, are optimistic about the inaugural year of AI PCs entering the market.

According to a report from Commercial Times, chip manufacturers are showcasing their AI PC chip solutions, with newcomer Qualcomm partnering with Google to launch Snapdragon X expected mid-year, while Intel leveraging both hardware and software resources.

Per the same report citing sources, laptop brands are beginning to plan AI PC-related products for the second half of the year. Recently, companies like Dell, Lenovo, and HP have held internal meetings with the Taiwan supply chain. In addition to contract manufacturers, IC design is also a key focus, with companies like MediaTek and Realtek being actively engaged.

Reportedly, each company currently has its own perspective on AI PC, with many opting to integrate AI accelerator chips. However, Microsoft and Intel have jointly defined AI PC as requiring NPU, CPU, and GPU, along with support for Microsoft’s Copilot. They are also incorporating a physical Copilot key directly on the keyboard and become the standard setters.

To adapt to significant changes in software and hardware, Intel is expanding its ecosystem. In addition to AI application software, they are incorporating Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) into their AI PC acceleration program.

This collaboration assists IHV partners in preparing, optimizing, and leveraging hardware opportunities in AI PC applications. Support is provided from the early stages of hardware solutions and platform development, offering numerous opportunities for IC design companies in Taiwan to enter Intel’s supply chain during the nascent stage of AI PC.

Reportedly, Qualcomm is rumored to maintain its partnership with Google as it ventures into the AI PC market this year with Snapdragon X Elite. Qualcomm and Google have previously collaborated closely in the realm of Android smartphones, with many devices equipped with Snapdragon chipsets already using Google software.

Intel estimates that by the end of this year, the market will introduce over 300 AI acceleration applications, further advancing its AI software framework and enhancing the developer ecosystem. Intel further predicts that by the end of 2025, there will be over 100 million PCs shipped with AI accelerators, indicating immense opportunities in the AI PC market. However, competition is fierce, and success in this market requires innovative products that are differentiated and meet user needs. With both Intel and Qualcomm unveiling unique strategies, the AI PC market is poised for significant developments.

For AI PC, TrendForce believes that due to the high costs of upgrading both software and hardware, early development will be focused on high-end business users and content creators. This targeted group has a strong demand for leveraging AI processing capabilities to improve productivity efficiency and can also benefit immediately from related applications, making them the first-generation primary users.

The emergence of AI PCs is not expected to necessarily stimulate additional PC purchase demand. Instead, most upgrades to AI PC devices will occur naturally as part of the business equipment replacement cycle projected for 2024.

Nevertheless, looking to the long term, the potential development of more diverse AI tools—along with a price reduction—may still lead to a higher adoption rate of consumer AI PCs.

Read more

• [News] AMD Hosts Innovation Summit, CEO Lisa Su Highlights the Beginning of AIPC Era
• [News] PC Market on the Rise, Tremendous Potential for AIPC Next Year

(Photo credit: Intel)

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.

Read more

• [News] AMD Hosts Innovation Summit, CEO Lisa Su Highlights the Beginning of AIPC Era
• [News] NVIDIA and AMD Clash in AI Chip Market, as TSMC Dominates Orders with Strong Momentum in Advanced Processes

(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.

Read more

• [News] AMD Reportedly Faces Obstacles in Selling Custom AI Chips to China
• [News] NVIDIA and AMD Clash in AI Chip Market, as TSMC Dominates Orders with Strong Momentum in Advanced Processes

(Photo credit: AMD)