Intel will begin manufacturing graphics processing units, a market dominated by Nvidia

As Intel continues to try to transform itself, its CEO has promised that the company will begin producing a new type of chip, one that has been made very popular by rival Nvidia.

At the Cisco AI Summit on Tuesday, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced that the company will begin producing graphics processing units (GPUs). These are more specialized processors, compared to Intel’s traditionally produced CPUs, and are used for gaming and tasks like training AI models.

TechCrunch has reached out to Intel for more information.

The project will be overseen by Kevork Keshishian, executive vice president and general manager of Intel’s data center group, Reuters reports. Kechichian was hired in September among a slew of new, engineer-focused hires.

Intel also appointed Eric Demers to this effort in January. Demers previously worked at Qualcomm for more than 13 years, most recently as Senior Vice President of Engineering.

This initiative appears to be in the relatively early stages as Tan said the company plans to develop its strategy around customer requirements and needs.

Although Nvidia didn’t invent the GPU, this specific type of chip played a big role in its success. GPUs for AI systems are so advanced and popular that the chip maker currently has a market lead.

It is interesting to see Intel expanding into this area now as Tan said the company would consolidate and focus on its core businesses when he took over as CEO last March. Although GPUs are still semiconductors, this is still a significant expansion.