Intel Unveils "Jaguar Shores": Next-Gen AI Chip to Compete in Inference Market

Jaguar Shores is Intel's secret plan to dominate AI market

According to HPCWire Intel has announced "Jaguar Shores" as its forthcoming next-generation AI chip designed for AI inference, revealed during the SC2024 conference. Jaguar Shores will follow the Falcon Shores, which has been delayed until late 2025, and is expected to integrate both Gaudi ASICs and Xe-HPC GPUs. Although the company has not confirmed whether Jaguar Shores will merge CPU and GPU functionalities into a single platform, there are indications that it may focus primarily on GPU capabilities. Intel's previously planned Falcon Shores was originally anticipated to be hybrid, but it will now be a dedicated GPU for AI inference. Jaguar Shores is speculated to utilize Intel's in-house 18A manufacturing process, leveraging advanced technologies such as RibbonFET and backside power delivery. These innovations aim to enhance the efficiency and performance of the chip, which is designed to compete in the burgeoning market for AI inferencing, particularly against established players like NVIDIA and AMD. Intel's roadmap indicates that the company is shifting its focus to the inference sector, recognizing that both AMD and NVIDIA have a solid hold on the AI training and inference markets through 2027. Jaguar Shores is positioned as a strategic attempt to regain market share. The company is streamlining its GPU lineup following the rebound from delays affecting previous models like the cancelled Rialto Bridge GPU. Despite struggling recently, Intel remains committed to its enterprise plans, with Jaguar Shores expected to play a key role in addressing mission-critical AI workloads. Intel has also rebuffed speculation regarding whether the upcoming chip will replicate the disaggregated designs seen in competitors. While Intel recognizes its past challenges, it is actively refining its strategies in response to market demands. The failure to meet previous release timelines has raised questions regarding the company's AI roadmap, as evidenced by the postponement of Gaudi 3 to 2025. As Intel's leadership contends with ongoing transitions, the future for Jaguar Shores and its exact specifications remains imprecise, with confirmation pending on several design aspects. Intel stock rises from the ashes amidst bold business decisions Intel stated, "Our roadmap for Falcon Shores remains," highlighting the strategic emphasis on optimizing its AI offerings. With Jaguar Shores set for future launch, how the chip will stack up against existing competitors is still an open question. In comparison to its predecessors, Jaguar Shores is insignificant as Intel looks to enhance its capabilities to support AI demands in data centers. Currently, Intel's Gaudi 3 is anticipated to focus heavily on direct competition with NVIDIA's last-gen Hopper-based H100. However, doubts linger around whether Jaguar Shores can make headway against well-established rivals in the field. While Intel has publicly endorsed the need for enterprise-focused AI solutions, the firm's historical delays prompt scrutiny regarding its competitiveness. Recent strategic decisions, including the separation of CPU and GPU for Falcon Shores, show a markedly cautious approach as the company aligns its resources in the evolving tech landscape. Intel's spokesperson emphasized, "We continuously evaluate our roadmap," reflecting a commitment to adapt to customers' needs amid changing market dynamics.

Intel Reveals "Jaguar Shores" As Its Next-Gen AI Chips For AI Inference At SC24

Intel has never talked about Jaguar Shores before, and it will probably bring together both Gaudi ASICs and Xe-HPC GPUs. Intel may not look in a good position right now, but it is continuing its plans for the client and server platforms. The company has been working on the next-gen Intel Battlemage GPUs, which has been leaked recently, but Battlemage isn't the only GPU it is planning to launch shortly. As per the report from HPC Wire, the company has revealed its plans for next-gen AI chips. The company usually brings high-performance chips on the Intel Gaudi platform from Intel's Habana Labs division and while Gaudi 3 will be shipping in volume next year, the latest addition to its lineup won't be just limited to Gaudi. Intel revealed that it is working on a new high-performance chip for powerful computing, known by the code name "Jaguar Shores". This was revealed at the SC2024 conference where Intel shared its roadmap comprising its high-performance chips for AI workloads. The Jaguar Shores is the successor to the Falcon Shores, the latter being planned for a 2025 release. Similar to Falcon Shores, the Jaguar Shores is likely to be a GPU rather than a processor for the Intel Gaudi Accelerator. Falcon Shores was initially designed to be a hybrid GPU-CPU solution, but now it is going to be a dedicated GPU for AI inference. The Jaguar Shores is said to be in a similar situation but might bring a GPU-ASIC design for delivering enhanced AI Inferencing. With Intel keeping its eye on the next-gen 18A manufacturing node, Intel will likely go with in-house 18A for both Falcon Shores and Jaguar Shores to leverage the power of technologies like RibbonFET and backside power delivery for improved efficiency. Our AI investments will complement and leverage our x86 franchise - with a focus on enterprise, cost-efficient inferencing. Our roadmap for Falcon Shores remains, - Intel Spokesperson Intel already outsources some of its chips from TSMC like Lunar and Arrow Lake, but this time it wants to have an advantage with the 18A, which will also be used in Clearwater Forest next year. A few years later, Intel also plans to utilize the in-house 14A process node in 2027. Intel Jaguar Shores will go against giants like NVIDIA and AMD, which already have a consistent roadmap of high-performance GPUs through 2027. Both companies dominate the AI training and inference markets, which is why Intel is targeting mostly the inference market with the upcoming chips. We continuously evaluate our roadmap to ensure it aligns with the evolving needs of our customers. While we don't have any new updates to share, we are committed to providing superior enterprise AI solutions across our CPU and accelerator/GPU portfolio. - Intel Spokesperson Intel has been struggling with its roadmap, which led to the cancellation of the Rialto Bridge GPU last year. The lack of foresight can be seen with the Falcon Shores as well, which transitioned from CPU+GPU to only discrete GPU. Furthermore, Intel also canceled the Ponte Vecchio GPU after the supercomputer Aurora went online. Intel has to carefully strategize and execute its plans amid the leadership turmoil, which saw frequent changes in the GPU leadership and organization in general. It has already slowed down drastically in the client CPU market, and it can't afford to lag in the AI market as well.

Jaguar Shores is the successor to Intel's Falcon Shores AI accelerators -- Gaudi ASICs and Xe-HPC GPUs united in a single lineup

While the industry anticipates the launch of its next-gen dedicated Gaudi 3 ASICs followed by Falcon Shores, both pushed into 2025; Intel has already revealed Jaguar Shores as the next successor in this lineup, per HPCwire. However, we aren't sure if Jaguar Shores will combine the CPU and GPU into a single platform, as was initially planned with Falcon Shores. , The report says that Intel's Habana Labs division - probably unintentionally - revealed this codename during a technical workshop at the SC2024 conference. When I inquired for more details, Intel refused to comment, but that's expected since most specifications are likely not finalized by now. For the uninitiated, Intel's current lineup includes dedicated ASICs termed "Gaudi," whose third iteration - Gaudi 3 - has been pushed back to 2025 and competes against Nvidia's last-gen Hopper-based H100. Intel's HPC and AI GPUs are side by side, and Ponte Vecchio currently sits in the world's third-fastest supercomputer, Aurora. Intel merged these two families into a disaggregated XPU (CPU+GPU) codenamed "Falcon Shores" to further streamline its AI offerings. However, those plans have been axed, and Falcon Shores will arrive in a GPU-only configuration by late 2025. With that context in mind, we cannot say much about the design choices behind the upcoming Jaguar Shores. Jaguar Shores is likely a GPGPU (General-Purpose GPU) -- akin to Nvidia's B100, B200, and B300 chips -- fabbed using an Angstrom-grade node (Intel 18A/14A). HPCwire suggests that Intel teased a Falcon Shores successor last year, slated for a 2026 launch. But will it be able to compete against Nvidia's Rubin chips by then? Admittedly, Intel's AI accelerators pale in contrast to AMD and Nvidia, and the future of AI in the company still looks bleak. The data center is the bread and butter of Intel's financials. This likely influenced its decision to reserve an X3D-esque server cache even though Intel Foundry is more than capable of manufacturing it for the mainstream market. But not all is doom and gloom since the latest Granite Rapids CPUs with upwards of 128-core signal a potential resurgence for Intel, at least in servers and workstations.