Intel Unveils Plans for Artificial-Intelligence Chips
August 17 2016 - 4:10PM
Dow Jones News
Intel Corp. signaled it wants a bigger role in artificial
intelligence, revealing plans to modify a line of chips to target a
fast-growing market turning into a battleground for technology
suppliers.
The company told technology developers Wednesday that it plans
next year to deliver a new version of the Xeon Phi processor—a
product line previously targeted at scientific applications—with
added features designed to accelerate tasks associated with what
Silicon Valley calls artificial intelligence.
Intel said the technology will help accelerate a technique
called deep learning, increasingly used for tasks such as
interpreting speech, identifying objects in photos and piloting
autonomous vehicles.
Intel's Xeon processors already are a fixture in data centers,
and have a role in nearly all deep-learning tasks carried out
there. But some users also install auxiliary processors for
artificial-intelligence tasks, notably chips called GPUs that rival
Nvidia Corp. has long sold for videogames.
Intel has said the Xeon Phi line, which has more processors than
standard Xeon chips, is already being used for some deep-learning
applications. Diane Bryant, executive vice president in charge of
Intel's data center group, said Wednesday at an Intel event that
the model coming out next year will handle additional instructions
designed specifically for such computing jobs.
Intel says Xeon Phi can run most analytic software without
tapping external processors that can slow analytical tasks,
something it bills as a key advantage over other approaches.
Executives added that it can also make use of more memory than
GPU-based approaches.
"When it comes to AI, Intel's Xeon Phi is a great fit," said
Jing Wang, a senior vice president at the Chinese search-engine
company Baidu Inc., who joined Ms. Bryant on stage at Intel's
annual developer forum in San Francisco.
Baidu has been a prominent user of Nvidia chips for
deep-learning tasks. A spokesman for Baidu declined to comment on
whether it will continue to use that technology.
Nvidia, whose chief executive has been highlighting
deep-learning applications for years, this week disputed recent
Intel claims about performance advantages of Xeon Phi. Nvidia says
its latest chips remain much faster than Intel's technology.
"It's great that Intel is now working on deep learning," Nvidia
said in a blog post Tuesday. "But they should get their facts
straight."
Besides Xeon Phi, Intel signaled a strong interest in artificial
intelligence with a deal last week to buy Nervana Systems, a
startup working on specialized chips and software aimed at deep
learning.
In another announcement at its annual forum, Intel disclosed
that is delivering the first optical-networking components that
have resulted from a 16-year effort to use silicon in place of
other materials to reduce manufacturing costs. The company said
components designed to deliver 100 gigabits of data a second are
now on sale.
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2016 15:55 ET (19:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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