Hardware
Intel's upcoming AI chip cheaper and cooler than Nvidia, AMD options
Intel plans to launch an AI chip by year-end with cheaper memory and cooling than Nvidia and AMD offerings, according to the Financial Times.
Photo: Nicolas Foster / Pexels
Intel announced plans to release an AI chip by the end of this year that uses cheaper memory and cooling technology compared to offerings from Nvidia and AMD, as the US chipmaker seeks to capitalize on a sharp turnaround in its fortunes. Kevork Kechichian, who leads Intel’s data center group, told the FT that the company is 'starting with the basics' as it tries to challenge its rivals in the booming market for semiconductors that power AI. The new 'Crescent Island' graphics processing unit is designed to speed up 'inference' tasks, the stage when a user makes their request, rather than the training of models, an area where Nvidia’s processors are dominant. An earlier attempt at building a GPU for training AI models called 'Gaudi' saw poor sales, and its planned successor was cancelled last year. Intel is also looking to take advantage of two constraints encountered by Nvidia and AMD: the need to incorporate expensive high-bandwidth memory and liquid-cooling infrastructure. Crescent Island is an air-cooled chip that uses LPDDR5 memory, a significantly cheaper type of memory than the HBM used in chips such as Nvidia’s Blackwell. *Source: [arstechnica](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/intel-our-upcoming-ai-chip-will-be-cheaper-run-cooler-than-nvidia-amd-options/)*
Key points
- Intel plans to ship an AI chip by the end of this year with cheaper memory and cooling than Nvidia and AMD offerings.
- Kevork Kechichian said Intel is 'starting with the basics' as it tries to challenge its rivals in the AI semiconductor market.
- The new 'Crescent Island' GPU is designed to speed up 'inference' tasks rather than model training, where Nvidia dominates.
- Intel’s earlier attempt at building a GPU for training AI models, called 'Gaudi,' saw poor sales, and its successor was cancelled last year.
- Crescent Island uses LPDDR5 memory, significantly cheaper than the HBM used in Nvidia’s Blackwell chips.
- Intel is moving aggressively into its own foundry for all data center products, aiming to make its chips cheaper than those from rivals who rely on TSMC.