- Intel is positioning Xeon 6 as the go-to CPU for AI systems
- The Xeon 6 processors promise to deliver up to 2.4x the capacity for RAN workloads
- But one analyst told Fierce this launch is more of an evolutionary move than a real game changer in the processing space
Intel is positioning itself as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and networking solutions with Monday’s launch of its Xeon 6 processors.
Never mind that in the wider picture, it’s behind in the AI race and its overall business appears to be flailing since the abrupt departure of CEO Pat Gelsinger in December. So what if – as others pointed out – the Xeon 6 was already announced last year, so it’s not really “news.” But like everybody else, Intel needs something to talk about at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, and this accomplishes that.
For more than a decade, Intel has committed to advancing the telecom industry and the Xeon 6 system-on-chip (SoC) launch reaffirms that commitment, according to Cristina Rodriguez, VP in Intel’s Network and Edge Group.
“By adapting the best of cloud technologies and collaborating closely with partners, we have helped operators virtualize both core and radio access networks, proving that the most complex critical network workloads can run in general purpose silicon and drive down the cost of ownership,” she said during a briefing with media and analysts. “As we're embracing the era of AI automation, silicon innovation is the critical lynchpin to meeting these demanding network requirements.”
The Xeon 6 processors for network and edge applications with built-in Intel vRAN Boost promise to deliver up to 2.4x the capacity for radio access network (RAN) workloads, according to the chip giant.
Intel’s latest Xeon 6 SoC also adds optimal AI inference performance without any additional discrete accelerators, and “with that, we further reduce the operator complexity,” Rodriguez said. “We eliminate unnecessary hardware, reduce energy consumption and by doing that, we are perfecting a CPU lineup built for networks and the edge in this new era of AI domination.”
Not exactly a game changer
That’s all well and good, but Intel’s launch doesn’t appear to be a real game changer for the telecom industry, according to Recon Analytics analyst Daryl Schoolar.
“It’s going to allow for AI RAN, adding AI functionality to it,” he told Fierce. “To me, it seems to be more of an evolutionary step” and one that Intel needs to do in order to keep pace with rivals.
“Obviously, you’re starting to see more talk about AI embedded within the infrastructure. This is a way of doing it on the RAN side,” he said.
It’s worth noting that AT&T and Verizon both provided quotes in support of Intel’s Xeon 6 portfolio. Of the big U.S. operators, T-Mobile is missing, but it’s also got an AI RAN initiative going with Nvidia.
What's up with AI RAN Alliance?
Of course, going into MWC, we’re all interested in who’s doing what with AI and the RAN. It was one year ago when the AI-RAN Alliance launched, taking some folks off guard because not everyone was invited to the Nvidia and Softbank-led party. Since then, more companies have joined the alliance, but not Intel.
Intel didn’t immediately provide an answer when Fierce asked if it has any plans to join the alliance.
Update: Since this story was first published, Intel responded with a comment from Rodriguez explaining Intel's desire to avoid participating in yet another industry group.
"Intel welcomes the industry participation on the future of the RAN, including AI. The RAN industry already has multiple standards bodies and industry forums looking at network AI, including 3GPP, ORAN Alliance, TIP, and 6GIG, with established protocols for governance," she said in an emailed statement. "As an industry, we need to avoid fragmentation and that’s why we should look to standards groups and trade organizations that represent the entire industry and that promote standards that build upon legacy infrastructure investments."
Roy Chua, founder of AvidThink, noted that Nvidia was one of the key founders of the alliance, and SoftBank is the majority owner of Intel rival Arm, another alliance member.
“Intel's own AI accelerator and GPU products are delayed – scrapping the release of Falcon Shores in favor of Jaguar Shores, so it's unclear whether AI-RAN is as urgent for them,” he told Fierce.
More broadly, Intel plays a key role with their vRAN Boost capabilities and a large part of vRAN deployments in the U.S. still use Intel chips.
However, “Nvidia is pushing with their AI-RAN offerings, and Boost Mobile (DISH) has shifted some spend to Arm-based CPUs from Ampere, plus AWS continues to push on its custom Arm-based Graviton family of chips. So there's pressure from multiple sides,” he concluded.