In a recent interview with Digit, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger discussed the company’s three significant missteps. Over the past decade, there have been numerous technological advancements and industry-wide shifts. Gelsinger expressed regret about Intel’s inability to leverage its unique position to seize specific opportunities. Here are the three mistakes according to the CEO.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Identifies Missed Opportunities
During the interview, Gelsinger acknowledged three areas where he believes Intel missed opportunities. The first area is Intel’s involvement in the smartphone market. He admitted, “Yeah, we missed the mobile wave,” highlighting that Intel isn’t significantly engaged in the smartphone market. While Intel chips were present in smartphones that used Intel processors back in 2004.
Such as the Samsung i700 with an Intel PXA250 CPU, the company is no longer involved in the smartphone market today. This shift is notable, especially considering the significant role Intel played in the development of personal computing.
In the interview, Intel’s CEO also touched upon the Larrabee project, expressing regret that “we killed the one that would have made all the difference in the world.” The Larrabee project represented Intel’s attempt to create a dedicated graphics card, a venture that could have been groundbreaking.
This vision has now materialized in the form of Intel Arc graphics, which has seen significant improvements through recent driver updates. Larrabee was originally conceived as a graphics processor based on original Pentium-based CPUs, with the goal of serving as a capable “GPGPU” (General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit) to accelerate various graphics-intensive workloads.
The Larrabee project was ultimately abandoned in 2009, a decision that coincided with Gelsinger’s departure from Intel. He returned to Intel several years later and assumed the role of CEO in 2021.
Lastly, Gelsinger discussed how Intel had a “strong inclination toward becoming a premier foundry“, meaning they aspired to be a leading semiconductor manufacturer. However, this approach did not produce the anticipated outcomes.
While the exact details remain unknown, Intel’s strong focus on becoming a premier foundry may have contributed to delays in innovation and the adoption of newer manufacturing processes like EUV lithography, which is used for Meteor Lake chips. Intel clung to its 14nm node for an extended period, during which time TSMC and AMD made significant advancements, especially with Ryzen processors.
Intel coined the term “Siliconomy,” emphasizing the indirect impact of semiconductor manufacturing on global GDP. Pat Gelsinger acknowledged that missed opportunities are inevitable in such a complex industry. Intel is gearing up for the launch of its 14th Gen Meteor Lake laptop chips next month, representing a significant shift in microprocessor architecture.
What are your thoughts on Intel’s past mistakes? Do you believe they could have been a more prominent company had they not missed out on the mentioned opportunities? Share your opinions in the comments below.
0 Comments