Intel Corporation has launched two new initiatives as part of its AI PC Acceleration Program to promote collaboration between software and hardware ecosystems, aimed at enhancing AI capabilities across over 100 million Intel-based AI PCs by 2025.
The first initiative, the AI PC Developer Program, is tailored specifically for software developers and independent software vendors (ISVs). Its primary goal is to provide developers with accessible tools, workflows, AI-deployment frameworks, and developer kits featuring the latest Intel hardware, including the Intel Core Ultra processor. This program seeks to streamline the developer experience and facilitate the adoption of AI technologies at scale.
The AI PC Development Kit has a pre-installed software stack that includes XPU drivers, Visual C Redistributable, Cmake, Python, OpenCV, Git, VS Code, OpenVINO, and Chrome Canary. Additionally, it features the ASUS NUC Pro 14 powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor. This device measures 4.6’ x 4.4’ x 1.5’ and supports up to quad-extended displays. It boasts four USB 3.2 ports, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and can accommodate up to 96 GB of memory.
The Intel Core Ultra processor claims to enhance PC-based AI acceleration by integrating CPU, GPU, and NPU through a 3D performance hybrid architecture alongside high-bandwidth memory and cache. GPUs optimize throughput by parallelizing data-intensive computational AI tasks, particularly in deep neural network training. CPUs excel in AI and machine learning tasks involving sequential data, complex branching, or low-latency inference. Meanwhile, Neural Processing Units (NPUs) manage sustained workloads for power-efficient AI inference.
Talking to the media, Carla Rodriguez, vice president and GM of Client Software Ecosystem Enabling at Intel, emphasized the importance of these initiatives in broadening the company’s engagement with the software development community.
“Today, with the addition of the AI PC Developer Program, we are expanding our reach to go beyond large ISVs and engage with small and medium-sized players and aspiring developers,” Rodriguez said.
The second initiative involves the inclusion of Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) into the AI PC Acceleration Program. Under this program, selected IHVs gain access to Intel's Open Labs, where they receive technical support and co-engineering assistance. This support aims to optimize their hardware solutions for Intel AI PCs. Additionally, Intel provides reference hardware to enable IHV partners to test and optimize their technology for optimal performance upon launch.
“Intel has already onboarded 150 hardware vendors around the world into our AI PC Accelerator Program,” Matt King, senior director of Client Hardware Ecosystem at Intel, said at a press briefing. “We’re excited to scale our innovative hardware and software solutions to bring this momentum to our broad, open ecosystem of developers.”
Furthermore, Intel has enhanced its developer resource pages to serve as a centralized hub for developers seeking AI PC and client-focused toolkits, documentation, and training materials.
“These resources aim to help developers to explore capabilities of Intel Core Ultra processors, maximizing performance in AI and machine learning applications while accelerating the development of new use cases,” Rodriguez said.
King stated that Intel’s initiatives are significant beyond just driving progress in the AI PC era. By working with a broad range of partners, Intel aims to deliver improved performance, productivity, innovation, and creativity to users all over the globe.