AI is a hot topic and covers a range of areas right now, but one that looks set to change and is already making huge waves is the kind of AI that’s available to average PC users. From image manipulation to audio enhancement, it’s going to offer powerful tools that will make the PC more relevant tan ever in the near future.
At the heart of your PC lies the processor or CPU and Intel is at the forefront of processor design with its latest 14th Gen mobile Core Ultra processors, previously codenamed Meteor Lake, combining CPU, GPU and now NPU (neural processing unit) components. I caught up with Intel’s Dermot Hargaden – vice president and general manager for Europe, Middle East, and Africa to talk about the company’s presence and recent expansion in Europe where its new Fab 34 facility in Ireland will be manufacturing Meteor Lake processors, the challenges of recent events such as Covid and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and what we have to look forward to in 2024.
Antony: The opening of the Fab 34 in Ireland is a significant milestone. What are Intel’s plans for the Fab in terms of what will be manufactured there both in the near future and over the next few years – is there anything specific that will be and the technologies and manufacturing processes used?
Dermot: I’m based in Ireland so the announcement of Fab 34 was extra special as it’s in my home town where I grew up. It was just green fields but now there’s a Fab there with the most advanced technology on the European continent. It’s the first location in Europe to have Extreme Ultra Violet EUV technology being used to make chips in high volume manufacturing, so that was a real breakthrough when we think about Moore’s Law and the need to push technology forwards and EUV was a key part of that.
We’re building a new process there – Intel 4 – so we’re moving on to a new node and all that enables for our customers whether that’s a denser chip or new technology. In terms of a European context Intel wants to solve the global supply chain issues and a balance we have right now. Eighty percent of of semiconductors are manufactured in one region of the world and we’d like to see the industry have a more balanced footprint to avoid the supply chain issues we’ve seen. Fab 34 is an important part of that combined with our announcements regarding Germany and also the test facilities in Poland – it’s an end-to-end supply chain in Europe.
Intel 4 will be used at Fab 34 and the first products to come from this will be the Core Ultra processor which was code named Meteor Lake and this will launch in December. It’s really important for us and for PC enthusiasts looking to the future such as the AI PC and what that will mean for everybody. The fact that’s being manufactured in Europe is a real statement of where Europe sits in Intel’s priorities.
Antony: Does Fab 34 differ in any way to Intel’s older plants in the US or Israel both in terms of the technology used and what is manufactured?
Dermot: Intel 4 is a key milestone from our perspective as we regain leadership across the spectrum and meet our CEO’s goal of five new nodes in four years. Again, from the perspective of Moore’s Law, each node is going to bring better performance and better power efficiency, with Intel 3 being the follow-on process, which will also be manufactured in Ireland.
Antony: What benefits will this bring to Europe’s supply chain of semiconductors?
Dermot: It’s another step in what’s required to rebalance that supply chain. Our customers in Europe and across the world value supply chain resilience and we don’t want to return to the imbalances we’ve seen in the past. Fab 34 in Ireland coupled with the mega Fab in Germany and particularly when we think about the backend process in Poland considering assembly, testing and packaging there. You now have a high-end, leading-edge, end-to-end manufacturing with the actual wafers staying within the continent.
There are existing older technologies that currently do the same but this is the first of its kind at scale with a cutting edge technology. What we’re saying to our customers is that we’ll continue to invest not just in terms of the high-end technology perspective but from the supply chain resilience perspective too. There’s also the sustainability point of view too. Our plants in Germany and Poland are just a couple of hours apart and Ireland is also part of the European continent. It creates more sustainable manufacturing with the shortening of the supply chain for our customers.
Antony: What is the latest for Intel both in the UK and in Europe too?
Dermot: Intel has had a presence in the UK for over 40 years, we currently have over 600 employees and our European head office is in Swindon with various other sites there too. While we don’t have a Fab there, we’re engaging in other areas such as the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Cambridge University in researching fusion energy or supporting startups through the Intel Ignite program, particularly in areas such as software and AI, plus investing in the future by working out what the next generation of skills will be and working with partners such as Imperial College London and Lenovo to close those digital skills gaps.
Antony: Is Intel facing any particular challenges at this time? We’ve obviously gone through Brexit here in the UK and the cost of living crisis, Covid and increasing costs due to the war in Ukraine having an impact on many areas and also the current situation in Israel.
Dermot: I think there’s been more disruption across the board than any of us could have predicted four or five years ago regarding trade, supply lines, geopolitical disruption for all those reasons. We’re obviously concerned about our colleagues in Israel where we have a large presence and several Fabs and we’re working closely with them. With regards to Covid, it accelerated some of the digital transformations we saw going on pre-pandemic, but it also impinged on some other people’s plans. Were still trying to figure out what the post-pandemic world looks like but there are a few things that you rarely have conversations without these days. Factors such as sustainability – everyone is looking to address this – and AI and how it will impact businesses and society. Those two themes are what our customers are looking to use to help them with
Antony: Intel has an exciting year ahead with Meteor Lake being all over the news recently. What is the latest with it?
Dermot: Meteor Lake is an incredible piece of technology when it comes to unlocking AI on a PC. We really haven’t understood fully the innovation that this is going to spark. The ability to use AI on a PC without an Internet connection – how is that going to play out across the hundreds of different applications we use on a daily basis. It will transform the experience of the end user – this aggregated technology with Meteor Lake with a CPU, GPU and NPU (neural processing unit for AI) – having all of that in the hands of the end user – it’s a really exciting time. I think it will re-energise the whole PC platform.
Antony: Can you tell us more about its key features and Intel’s hopes for it ushering in a new generation of processors – what can consumers expect in terms of benefits if they buy a Meteor Lake- based laptop for example?
Dermot: From an architectural standpoint, Meteor Lake—officially Intel Core Ultra 1st Gen—is our biggest shift in 40 years, and the product that will drive the next decade of innovation. It’s our first client processor manufactured on the new Intel 4 process node using our 3D high-performance hybrid architecture; it’s our first client tile-based design enabled by Foveros packaging technology; and it’s our first client processor to integrate an NPU, which will usher in a new generation of AI PC. That’s a lot of firsts!
That combination of cutting-edge architectural design and manufacturing process technologies is what enables us to deliver a great combination of performance, power efficiency, and AI-enabled features at scale to consumers. No one else in the industry can do that.
But beyond the obvious benefits Intel Core Ultra brings to consumers via features like increased battery life and system responsiveness, this is the product that ushers in a new age of AI PC for consumers. Intel Core Ultra’s NPU delivers on the need for high-efficiency, high performance inference for emerging needs in collaboration, content consumption, productivity, and future operating systems, while Intel Arc graphics deliver on a need for highest-throughput inference to support gaming and creative workloads.
Make sure you tune in on December 14 for our AI Everywhere event – we’ll have much more to share on Intel Core Ultra and the benefits AI PC will bring to consumers.
Antony: We were expecting Meteor Lake to land on the desktop too. Can you tell us what this didn’t happen and what Intel’s plans are for desktop? For example, is the LGA1700 socket finally at the end of its life and what comes next?
Dermot: Recently, we launched our Intel Core 14th Generation desktop processors. These are designed to provide incredible performance in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, building on the performance leadership of the performance hybrid architecture powering our Intel Core 12th and 13th Generation desktop processors.
Intel Core Ultra 1st Gen is a is a power efficient architecture that we’ve focused on mobile platforms. But it will also include some compact desktop designs such as All-in-One (AIO). We will have more product details to share soon.
Antony: Is there anything else that consumers can look forward to in 2024?
Dermot: Again, make sure you tune into our AI Everywhere event on December 14th.
Antony: Does Intel have any big announcements planned for CES 2024?
Dermot: While I can’t comment on specific announcements, Intel is at CES in full force for 2024. Michelle Johnston Holthaus, EVP and GM of Client Computing Group, and Jim Johnson, SVP and GM of Client Business Group, will host a news conference and tech showcase on January 8th.
Intel is also hosting a variety of other events at CES, including featured speakerships by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Lisa Spelman (CVP and GM), and Wei Li (VP and GM of Intel’s Data Center and AI Group); AI-focused sessions led by experts including Stacy Shulman (VP of Intel’s Network and Edge Group), and Gadi Singer (VP and Director of Emergent AI Research at Intel Labs); and an Auto Tech session, hosted by Jack Weast (VP and GM of Intel Automotive).
I’d like to thank Dermot for taking the time to talk to Forbes and you can see my recent reviews of Intel’s 14th Gen CPUs here.
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