In a galaxy not far, far away at all…
It is a period of technological upheaval as semiconductor REBELS battle GALACTIC CHIP EMPIRES for control of the next AI revolution. Striking from secret labs, upstart manufacturers race to develop hyper-efficient ARM and AI ACCELERATOR CHIPS to bring AI capabilities to personal devices without cloud connectivity.
Meanwhile, the established EMPIRES struggle with their own next-gen designs to counter the REBEL THREAT and maintain dominance over a $600+ billion processor market.
But the REBELS have designed a powerful new weapon — on-device AI that can process over 100 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS).
No more sending data across latency-prone clouds — the FORCE OF GENERATIVE AI will be locally present to anticipate user needs through contextual interactions. The winning EMPIRE’s designs will see employees working alongside intelligent AI comrades accelerating workflows.
The fate of this entire AI-driven future rests on the coating of billions of minuscule transistors... which CHIP EMPIRE will craft the all-powerful AI engine that will rule them all?
Iconic opening scenes aside, we can’t know which global enterprise in the chip wars will reign supreme. Will it be AMD, Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, some, none or all of the above?
Much easier to predict is the effect. This intense competition between these tech giants will pay widespread dividends for all of us — as consumers, employees and individuals alike.
And how could it not? The biggest names in chip processing are locked in an “ARM race” over who can create smarter, more efficient and more capable devices faster.
Competition doesn’t always breed widespread benefits and unparalleled innovations, but that is precisely what makes the chip wars so exciting.
This innovative hybrid design delivers exceptional power management for PCs, workstations and mobile devices. It enables advanced AI applications to run natively, extending battery life to unprecedented levels.
But here is where the innovation intensifies.
Fully unleashing AI’s potential directly on these devices without cloud dependency requires specialized AI accelerator chips. These NPUs, acting as the elite commandos of the chip wars, are purpose-built to manage the computationally intensive algorithms required for natural language processing, computer vision and other advanced AI tasks.
Yes, because combining the efficiency of ARM CPUs with the AI-specific computational brawn of NPUs will unleash an entirely new class of “AI-Native” personal computers (AI PCs) and mobile workstations. Forged by OEMs such as Dell, these devices can locally crunch through trillions of operations per second while sipping battery power — instantly understanding and responding to user needs with powerful, fully-embedded AI capabilities.
So, although ARM and NPUs have distinct roles, their integration enables Intel, AMD and others to advance by developing chips that optimize performance-per-watt for complex AI tasks. Integrating these architectures in PCs and mobile devices will redefine how we interact with and benefit from AI in every dimension of daily life.
A war over chips will power the future of PCs and AI-powered devices. We said earlier that “all of us” will come out as the winners of this battle. It might be time to revise that statement.
To suggest organizations that position themselves to take advantage of these breakthroughs sooner than later will be “lightyears” ahead of their competition is… well, a bit too close to hyperbole for comfort. However — and this is a big neon glowing “however” — they will be at a considerable advantage for the foreseeable future.
Juan Orlandini, CTO of Insight North America, isn’t one to mince words on this point. “If you don’t start today and you wait for gen two, gen three, you’re going to be stuck.” Why will you be stuck? “Because,” Orlandini warns, “you will be trying to catch up with your competitors who are already outpacing you in efficiency and innovation within the market space you’re competing in.”
Employee sentiments for AI-powered devices
9/10 employees feel their employers are AI-ready.
73% believe AI-powered devices will increase their productivity.
Only 18% are concerned about learning new technology.
How is the evolution in semiconductors impacting makers and end users alike? Watch our interview for a technologist's perspective.
That’s why understanding your organization’s AI maturity, categorizing your user groups, and mapping anticipated future needs is crucial before upgrading devices and infrastructure. A straightforward audit can reveal if you are currently “AI-capable” with more basic on-device AI functionality, versus being truly “AI-ready” with an infrastructure that can handle advanced AI workloads.
Many modern smartphones and laptops are already AI-capable out-of-the-box, able to run facial recognition, simple speech interfaces and data filtering through AI models locally processing under 30 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS).
Your AI Device Wayfinder
Hardware-enabled AI (AI-ready) PCs: Include an NPU that offers up to 40 TOPS.
Next-Gen AI PCs: Come equipped with an NPU capable of delivering 40-60 TOPS performance, as well as an AI-driven Operating System (OS) that provides persistent and ubiquitous AI capabilities in both the OS and applications.
For more information on the different types of AI PCs and which ones are available today, jump over to our Buyer’s Guide.
AI-capable devices were just the first step. As chip technology rapidly evolves, true AI-readiness means equipping your workforce with powerful new AI-native PCs and workstations that can handle even the most demanding AI workloads locally on the device.
But simply procuring bleeding-edge AI hardware is not enough to guarantee the full productivity benefits. These machines pack incredible capabilities, and the latest research (discussed in the next section) shows employees are eager to use AI-powered devices.
Providing clear guidelines and training on how to maximize the value of these devices is essential to achieving that end.
This means having a comprehensive adoption plan in place that provides change management support and encourages new habits around:
Iterating on AI outputs like automated content drafts to refine results.
Handling complex tasks like data analysis through natural queries.
Understanding ideal use cases like real-time audio translation.
So, on top of optimizing for compute needs, IT leaders should prepare to be the Jedi Masters of AI and apprentice their workforce to get the most value from new AI PCs and workstations.
Speaking of guided adoption, do you know how employees feel about AI-powered devices?
Han Solo famously boasted that he made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Today’s technology equivalent might belong to Qualcomm and Microsoft…
On May 20, 2024, Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus series. Embedded into the hardware, these chips deliver multi-day battery life and the world’s fastest NPU for laptops at a pulse-quickening 45 TOPS and leading performance per watt.
On the same fateful day, Microsoft unveiled its newest category of Windows PC designed for AI: Copilot+ PCs. These devices provide an always-on AI experience with a new version of Copilot+ that is contextually aware of on-device information.
Leading global OEMs including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung are now rolling out the first wave of Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus.
What does the next generation of PC mean for consumers? Watch the briefing.
So maybe the chip wars won’t be waged with lightsabers or starships. That doesn’t make it any less dazzling. This is a contest wielded with patents and processors that will influence and optimize every aspect of our workday and daily life.
Are you excited yet?
We hope so. Because in this war, every innovation is a chance to advance your organization. Assuming, of course, you have your systems ready to make the jump from AI-capable to AI-powered.
The AI revolution is upon us, and “This is the way.”
