India now distinct regional priority for Intel: Exec VP Christoph Schell

The global semiconductor industry is projected to reach a trillion-dollar valuation by 2030

Chipmaker Intel is betting big on India by carving it out as a separate geographic region, said Christoph Schell, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, Intel. Earlier, it was clubbed under Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

A significant share of Intel’s global growth, and in India, will be driven by artificial intelligence (AI), which is driving a new economy called ‘Siliconomy’, Schell said at the Intel AI Summit held in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

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Siliconomy refers to an economy that is dependent heavily on silicon or semiconductors to drive the digital economy of the world. Presently, silicon feeds a $574 billion industry, serving as the backbone of the global tech economy worth about $8 trillion. The digital economy contributes to more than 15 per cent of global GDP today, which is expected to grow to 25 per cent by the end of the decade. The global semiconductor industry is projected to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030. “Silicon will drive a lot of the digital economy,” Schell said.

As organisations across sectors deploy AI, one of the key challenges facing them is power consumption. Intel can help in optimising energy usage, Schell said.

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The US chipmaker is also ushering in a new era of computing, following the launch of its AI PC in late 2023. Equipped with Intel’s Core Ultra processors, designed to tackle AI-based tasks, the new systems enhance overall user productivity and experience. Intel’s AI PCs are available in the market, and many retailers are already shipping them to India. Intel aims to provide core processors for up to 100 million AI-enabled PCs by 2025.

And the company wants to democratise access to these innovative machines. “Intel’s new 3D performance hybrid architecture, built into every Core Ultra processor, integrates CPU, GPU, and NPU (neural processing unit) into a single package. Each of these engines can be used for very specific AI workloads,” the company said.

Last year, the company launched the AI PC Acceleration Programme to enable AI on more than 100 million PCs through 2025 by working with more than 100 independent software vendors (ISVs) and over 300 AI-accelerated features to enhance PC experiences.

$574 bn

is the present size of the silicon economy

$8 tn (approx)

is the present size of global tech economy

15%

of the global GDP today is contributed by digital economy