Intel to Produce Custom AI Chip for Amazon, Delays German Plant

Intel to Make Custom AI Chip For Amazon, Delay German Plant

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc.'s AWS as a customer for the company's manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS will coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing - what's known as a fabric chip - in a "multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework," according to a statement Monday. The work will rely on Intel's 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology.

Intel to Make Custom AI Chip for Amazon

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon's AWS as a customer for the company's manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Bloomberg's Ian King joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: Bloomberg)

Intel's AI Chip Plan: Amazon Pact, German Plant Delay

Intel and AWS will coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing - what's known as a fabric chip - in a "multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework," according to a statement. Intel also is postponing new factories in Germany and Poland. Ian King has more. (Source: Bloomberg)

Intel unveils Amazon deal to produce custom AI chip; pauses Germany, Poland plants

Described as a "significant expansion" of the working relationship between Amazon and Intel, the two companies unveiled a "multi-year, multi-billion-dollar" framework which will see Intel produce chips for Amazon, starting with a custom artificial intelligence fabric Chip utilizing Intel's 18A foundry process technology. Intel will also create custom Xeon 6 chips using the Intel 3 node for as part of an existing partnership where Intel produces Xeon Scalable processors for Amazon Web Services. "This expansion of our longtime relationship with AWS reflects the strength of our process technology and delivers differentiated solutions for customer workloads," said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in a statement. "Intel's chip design and manufacturing capabilities, combined with the comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, AI and machine learning services of AWS, will unleash innovation across our shared ecosystem and support the growth of both businesses, as well as a sustainable domestic AI supply chain." "By co-developing next-generation AI fabric chips on Intel 18A, we continue our long-standing collaboration, dating back to 2006 when we launched the first Amazon EC2 instance featuring their chips," AWS CEO Matt Garman added. "Our continued collaboration allows us to empower our joint customers with the ability to run any workload and unlock new AI capabilities." Intel is also pausing construction on new factories in Germany and Poland for approximately two years, "based on market demand," the company said in a separate statement. A separate manufacturing hub in Malaysia will be completed, but only put into use when market conditions allow. Its U.S. manufacturing expansion will remain underway, with Intel building locations in Ohio, New Mexico, Arizona and Oregon, Intel added. Intel's board reportedly met earlier this month to discuss a series of moves aided to shore up the company's finances, including selling assets and postponing construction plans on its global expansion.