The Third GMIF2024 Innovation Summit was successfully held at the Renaissance Shenzhen Bay Hotel in recent days. The event brought together senior executives and industry experts from renowned domestic and international companies, including the School of Integrated Circuits at Peking University, Micron, Western Digital, Solidigm, Arm, UNISOC, Intel, iFlytek, Rockchip, Silicon Motion, BIWIN, Victory Giant, Allwinner, InnoGrit, Maxio, QUANXING, Montage, Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research, DISCO, Skyverse, Loongson Technology, and many others. The gathering saw industry leaders engage in discussions on global storage innovation and ecosystem collaboration for shared growth in the AI era. During the summit, the GMIF2024 Annual Awards were officially unveiled, and a total of 38 key enterprises from across the industry supply chain had been honored for their outstanding contributions.
At the GMIF2024 Innovation Summit, Haibing Xie, Director, Application Design in Center, Intel China, delivered a speech titled “AI PC Evolution”. From multiple viewpoints of development status, technological breakthroughs and market prospects, Mr. Xie provided an in-depth analysis of the critical role of AI PC in future computing field and showcased Intel’s forward-looking deployment in promoting AI PC implementation and industry chain collaboration. The keynote not only denoted the latest technological evolution of AI PC but also painted a picture of the future intelligent transformation of PC industry in combination with Intel’s innovation strategy.
AI PC: An Intelligent Revolution from Laboratory to Market
Mr. Xie started the speech with a set of attention-grabbing data, “Since Intel released its first AI-based Core processor in December 2022, global shipments have exceeded 20 million units in just 10 months.” This figure highlights the rapid market recognition and potential of AI PCs.
The fundamental difference between AI PC and traditional PC lies in the innovative architecture of its processors. Intel’s integration of CPU, GPU and NPU (Neural Processing Unit) within the AI PCs creates a new diversified AI computing engine. Mr. Xie pointed out that while traditional PCs focus on processing standardized tasks, AI PCs possess the capability to handle complex AI workloads and allow for flexible selection of the most appropriate computing engine according to various requirements. For example, large-scale deep learning models like Transformer are well-suited for processing with GPU, and NPU shows advantages in low-power application scenarios such as continuous image recognition or voice processing tasks.
Intel showcased multiple AI PC solutions at GMIF2024
“The tool-based nature of PCs makes them irreplaceable in terms of productivity and creativity, and AI PC further highlights and greatly amplifies this attribute,” Haibing Xie further explained, “PCs remain central devices for productive work such as design, video production, and programming. However, with the integration of large language models and AI inference, AI PCs are set to become even smarter tools, capable of assisting users in completing more complex tasks.”
Building AI PC Ecosystem: Hardware and Software Collaborative Innovation
Intel has not only laid a solid foundation for AI PCs at the hardware level but is also driving rapid adoption by building a comprehensive development ecosystem. Xie added that Intel offers a complete AI development toolchain, including OpenVINO, ONNX, and other tool sets compatible with mainstream operating systems. These tools help developers easily adapt various AI models and optimize performance on the AI PC platform.
In terms of hardware architecture, AI PC adopts a collaborative working mode of CPU, GPU, and NPU, forming a flexible and efficient computing layout. For example, GPU can maximize efficiency for tasks requiring high parallel processing such as image generation; NPU excels in low-power, lightweight inference tasks. Xie demonstrated Intel AI PC’s performance in multiple application scenarios, including real-time image generation and large language model inference operations. Of these demonstrations, AI PC showed excellent computing speed and response time. For instance, using the Baichuan AI model, AI PC can generate 512×512 pixel images in 1.2 seconds, greatly improving the efficiency of image generation tasks.
Regarding software ecosystem construction, Intel has established deep cooperation with domestic and international AI large model manufacturers such as Zhipu and Baichuan, to ensure the smooth operation of these large models on AI PC platform. Meanwhile, Intel also collaborates with OEM manufacturers like Lenovo and HP to develop various application scenarios such as AI meeting assistants and intelligent content creation, making AI PC applications more widespread in office, creation, and education.
Market Prospects: AI PC Initiates New Era in PC Industry
Xie stated that Intel expects AI PC to lead the PC industry transformation in the coming years, and by 2026, AI PC’s share in the global PC market is predicated to reach 60%. He emphasized that this growth momentum is similar to the market transformation brought by multimedia PCs and Internet PCs, which will drive PCs to evolve from traditional productivity tools to more intelligent and efficient personal assistants.
From an application scenario perspective, AI PC will cover multiple areas including intelligent assistants, meeting assistants, personal knowledge bases, and intelligent creation. Whether in office scenarios for intelligent collaboration or creative work with AI assistance, AI PC can provide users with unprecedented intelligent experiences. Particularly in emerging fields such as AI SaaS and digital humans, the advantages of AI PCs will increasingly come to light to bring forth an all-new experience and model for users.
Outlook: Building an Open and Innovative AI PC Ecosystem Together
In the final part of his speech, Xie concluded that, “AI PC, the best carrier for edge AI, serves as the catalyzer to promote the intelligent transformation of the PC industry and further brings new business models and innovation opportunities to the entire computing industry.” Intel will scale up its efforts in deep layout of its processors, software toolchains, and industrial ecosystem, and work hand-in-hand with global partners to build an open and innovative AI PC ecosystem.
Intel received the “Outstanding Technology Leadership Award” at GMIF2024
In the coming few years, Intel will engage in a two-pronged effort in improving AI PC hardware performance and promoting AI model adaptation and optimization at one time. Much endeavors will also be channeled to facilitate the diversification of AI application scenarios by leveraging ecosystem collaborations. Mr. Haibing Xie is optimistic about the future, stating, “We firmly believe that by 2025, global shipments of AI PCs will reach 100 million units, marking the beginning of explosive growth for AI PCs.”