There are rumors… and there are facts. For almost two years and after Intel’s exciting launch of its first dedicated graphics cards “Alchemist”, there has been a rumbling in the background: Intel will soon shut down its division in charge of GPU development. However, hanging out at CES in Las Vegas, it was easy to conclude the opposite. Note that Intel has never been that fast in this area.
To be convinced, it was enough to look at the first “Battlemage” graphics cards B580 and B570. The entry-level gaming GPUs were launched in December 2024 and received a good response. Intel still doesn’t have what it takes to really shake Nvidia and AMD in the mid- and high-end range, but despite some limitations, the second generation of Intel gaming GPUs is proving to be more attractive than the last generation. . A good point.
But what was said to be the direct order was less a gaming chip than a CES graphics announcement: a graphics chip for cars.
The arc is coming for automobiles
© Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
Aside from its Core Ultra 200H and Ultra 200 HX, Intel took advantage of CES to make primarily automotive announcements. The first is the popular ACU U310 chip that we’ve already told you about. A processor to control the energy of electric car motors that some manufacturers are starting to integrate into the vehicles, such as Stellartis.
But the other announcement that concerns us here is the launch of the first generation of Intel graphics cards for automobiles. Called Intel ARC B for Automotive — the B is for “Battlemage,” the second generation of ARC chips at the heart of the Core Ultra 200S and B580 and B570 graphics cards — the chip is planned for late 2025. .
© Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
Intel is offering a solution here that will support the car’s interior display, from GPS to entertainment applications, from movies to video games – we speak of an infotainment system in jargon. And quite logically, this chip will also be capable of running AI, such as voice recognition and other small local LLMs.
GPU, a technology in many guises
If a GPU is traditionally manufactured in the form of a card with a graphics chip (here, the Intel B580 reference card), it can also take the form of a logic circuit integrated into an SoC. © Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
You have to be careful what you say. If in the mind of the general public, a GPU is a physical card that integrates a processor in charge of rendering and computing video games, the reality is much more complex. In fact, a GPU is an architecture (a logical block designated in a form of intellectual property called IP in jargon) that can take many forms: a dedicated chip, of course. But a piece of chip (actually a SoC) in a computer processor. But it can also be a chip or a logic element integrated into a car, digital cash register or other device. And if you want to confuse the issue further, intensive computing chips and data centers are always called GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) even though they are often devoid of graphics computing extensions!
Core Ultra “processors” are actually systems-on-a-chip that integrate not only a microprocessor (CPU), but also a GPU in one corner of the chip. © Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
So could Intel stop its dedicated graphics cards in the near future? Possible, but not very likely. Dev took a long time to deliver a successful IP, so it would be a waste of money. Then, its second generation, far from perfect, offered better value for money than the first iteration and began to make a name for itself. Finally, this architecture has been integrated into its mobile and desktop chips. But it is also available in professional cards, whether office or data center. This is for the IT section.
The growing auto chip market
Intel Auto Experience at CES in Las Vegas, January 2025. © Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
As we’ve seen, Intel is leveraging its development by using part of the graphics logic brick for industrial chips aimed at automobiles. However, if the PC market is growing slightly and remains very competitive, the auto chip market is booming. Driven by electrification and digitalization, the automotive semiconductor market could be worth $117 billion by 2023, according to the latest report by TechInsights.
© Adrian Branko for Les Numeriques
Even if Intel captures only 8 percent of that market, it still represents a jackpot of about $10 billion. With an estimated $52 billion in revenue for 2024 (only the first three quarters have been released, an average of $13 billion per quarter), the extra $10 billion would be a boon for Intel. Better yet: Pushed on CPUs in both PCs and calculators, Intel is also almost absent from these markets, especially in terms of GPUs. The giant can only gain market share by positioning itself, as it does, as a third way against an overwhelmingly dominant Nvidia and a struggling AMD.
Will Intel’s GPU Strategy Succeed? Hard to say. But one thing is certain: Intel may completely abandon its gaming graphics cards in the next couple of generations if it fails completely. But given the importance of GPUs in many markets such as automobiles, intensive computing, AI, so-called “edge” chips or even PC processors, the shutdown of its GPU division seems entirely unlikely. Cassandras will have to replace the disk.