At the recent Hot Chips 2024 symposium in Stanford, California, Intel highlighted its latest developments in AI technology, focusing on data center, cloud computing, edge and PC applications.
A key moment was the introduction of the industry’s first fully integrated optical compute interconnect (OCI) chiplet, which is designed to improve high-speed AI data processing. This is something the company has talked about before.
This new technology aims to improve AI data processing by providing higher bandwidth, lower power consumption, and better scalability for future computing infrastructures. The OCI chiplet, together with an Intel CPU, supports 64 channels of 32 Gbps data transmission over 100 meters of fiber. This innovation is intended to meet the growing demand for AI infrastructure, especially in high-performance computing (HPC) and data centers.
Advanced packaging
Saeed Fathololoumi, a photonic architect at Intel, noted that the OCI chiplet “is expected to meet the growing demand of AI infrastructure for higher bandwidth, lower power consumption, and longer range.”
Intel’s approach to integrated optics, as highlighted in a slide shared with ServeTheHomefocuses on the use of silicon photonics to improve Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). This includes advanced packaging for heterogeneous integration and tight coupling of optical engines to hosts such as XPUs, enabling the development of novel systems and applications.
Another slide, shown below, dives deeper into how Intel’s 4 Tbps (8 Tbps bidirectional) Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit (IC) supports both parallel and serial host interfaces, optimized for power efficiency and compact size. It includes features such as ring modulators, germanium photodetectors, and V-groove passive fiber coupling, making it ideal for high-volume silicon photonics platforms.
Pere Monclus, CTO of Intel’s Network and Edge Group, said: “As AI workloads increase, Intel’s broad industry experience enables us to understand what our customers need to drive innovation, creativity and ideal business outcomes. The OCI chiplet is a key part of our strategy to meet those needs with breakthrough technology.”
Intel’s emphasis on the OCI chiplet reflects its commitment to maintaining a leadership position in technological innovation, even as it faces stiff competition in the AI sector. While companies like Nvidia have seen significant growth driven by AI demand – with a market cap of $2.928 trillion – and AMD has increased its market cap to $240.44 billion, Intel has not experienced similar gains.
Intel currently ranks 182nd in terms of market capitalization at $94.24 billion, down from a peak of $502 billion in 2000. Intel is striving to regain its competitive edge, but could it be too late?
A comment below ServeTheHome‘s reporting makes an interesting suggestion: “It’s products like this that make me think AMD should bite the bullet and buy Intel. Keep the networking and optical, keep the software, definitely keep the marketing department, definitely keep the unlicensed product design/support dirty deeds department. Sell the CPU and GPU departments, maybe someone in the EU or South Korea wants them.”