Computex 2023: Intel cedes spotlight at global tech gala to AI darling Nvidia | Tech News

Computex 2023: Intel cedes spotlight at global tech gala to AI darling Nvidia

When Asia’s biggest computing and electronics show kicked off this week, one name was conspicuously absent: Intel Corp.

By:BLOOMBERG
| Updated on: May 31 2023, 16:37 IST
5 fastest supercomputers in the world: NVIDIA DGX GH200, Frontier system, and more
Nvidia
1/6 The NVIDIA DGX GH200 AI Supercomputer combines Grace CPU and Hopper H100 GPU, designed particularly for AI models with an output of 1 Exaflop/s. NVIDIA says that this supercomputer will be able to churn out AI models within weeks, instead of months. It should be noted that this supercomputer hasn’t yet been ranked by the Top500 Project, an organization that lists the most powerful and fastest supercomputers in the world. (NVIDIA)
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2/6 In the list of the world’s fastest supercomputers that was released recently, at the first position is the Frontier system which is kept at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA. With 8,699,904 cores, the computer clocked a Rmax PFlops of 1,194, which is more than double the system which came in second. The system consumes a power of 22,703 kW to run. (ORNL)
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3/6 The second position has been taken by Supercomputer Fugaku which has been kept at the RIKEN Center for Computational Science in Japan. With 7,630,848 cores, it was able to clock a Rmax PFlops of 442.01. It held the top position from June 2020 to November 2021 but was dethroned by Frontier in the next list. (RIKEN)
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4/6 Lumi gets the third position. The supercomputer is kept at EuroHPC/CSC in Finland. The system entered the list for the first time in June 2022 and directly made its place in the third slot, which it has still managed to hold on to. It has managed to secure an HPL score of 309.1 Pflops. (LUMI)
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5/6 The fourth position has been taken by Leonardo and is kept at EuroHPC/CINECA in Italy. It reached the fourth position six months ago after receiving an upgrade and now boasts of an HPL score of 239 Pflops.  (Leonardo)
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6/6 Summit, an IBM Power System, has been placed in the fifth position. It is also placed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA. With 2,414,592 cores, it has registered an HPL score of 148.60 PFlops. (IBM)
Nvidia
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Visitors during the Taipei Computex expo in Taipei, Taiwan. The trade show runs through June 2. (Bloomberg)

When Asia's biggest computing and electronics show kicked off this week, one name was conspicuously absent: Intel Corp. The US chipmaker does not have an official presence at this year's Computex exhibition, an event it once dominated through keynote speeches and an outsized footprint on the show floor. The 2023 edition opened instead with a marathon two-hour showcase by Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, a day before it became the first $1 trillion chipmaker in anticipation of a wave of demand for its artificial intelligence processors.

Intel, long synonymous with the fastest processors in the world, has seen its all-purpose chips overshadowed by Nvidia's more specialized, parallel-processing architecture that's superior at speeding up AI workloads. Intel rivals that hosted the other big keynote events included Qualcomm Inc., MediaTek Inc. and Arm Ltd. CEO Rene Haas — a former Nvidia executive — all of which talked up their AI credentials.

Nvidia cast a long shadow across the exhibition floor. Super Micro Computer Inc. showed off data center racks with multiple Nvidia H100 accelerators, Asustek Computer Inc. is readying a subscription-based generative AI service built around Nvidia's A100 chips, and Quanta Computer Inc. is touting new servers that support the Nvidia Grace Hopper superchip. In contrast, Intel's presence was far diminished from previous years. The lifeblood of the Computex show are the smaller device assemblers and system integrators, companies that a decade earlier would likely have revolved around Intel.

For this year at least, Intel opted to retreat from the Computex spotlight and conduct its business behind the scenes. CEO Pat Gelsinger hosted an invitation-only Intel Vision event in Taipei last week. The company is also supporting partners like Asus at their Computex booths. Its most public appearance will be an executive joining a sustainability forum.

Santa Clara, California-based Intel, whose headquarters are only a brief walk away from Nvidia's and those of rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc., is in a transitional period under Gelsinger's leadership. The company recently launched its first graphics cards and is working to make up lost ground on the AI front and advanced chip fabrication.

Nvidia's Huang may become a customer of Intel's in the future. Asked about diversifying his company's supply chain beyond main partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the executive on Tuesday said his company is evaluating Intel's next-gen chipmaking processes and they looked promising.

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First Published Date: 31 May, 16:37 IST
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