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Things may have been different for Intel, the computer age sweetheart that struggled in the AI era.
Four people with firsthand knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters that the corporation had the option to buy a stake in OpenAI, then a budding non-profit research organization in generative artificial intelligence, seven years ago.
Three people claimed executives at the two firms explored Intel buying a 15% interest in $1 billion in cash over several months in 2017 and 2018. Two insiders suggested Intel may acquire a 15% interest in OpenAI if it makes hardware at cost.
Three sources, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters, said Intel ultimately decided against a deal because then-CEO Bob Swan did not think generative AI models would reach the market soon and repay the chipmaker’s investment.
Two people claimed OpenAI wanted an Intel investment to lessen its dependence on Nvidia chips and establish its own infrastructure. The people claimed that Intel’s data center unit refused to build items at cost, hence the contract fell through.
An Intel spokeswoman did not address the likely deal. Swan and OpenAI declined to comment.
Intel’s refusal to invest in OpenAI, which launched the revolutionary ChatGPT in 2022 and is now worth $80 billion, was previously unknown.
According to Reuters interviews with nine former Intel executives and industry experts, it is one of a series of strategic misfortunes that have seen the company, which led computer chip development in the 1990s and 2000s, stumble in the AI era.
Intel’s stock price fell more than 25% last week after its second-quarter reporting, its worst trading day since 1974.
For the first time in 30 years, the tech company is under $100 billion. The former industry leader, whose slogan “Intel Inside” stood for excellence, is currently striving to launch an AI chip product.
Intel is dwarfed by $2.6 trillion rival Nvidia which has switched from video game graphics to AI chips needed to construct, train, and manage massive generative AI systems like OpenAI’s GPT4 and Meta Platforms’ Llama models. Intel lost ground to $218 billion AMD.
Regarding its AI progress, Intel’s spokeswoman cited CEO Pat Gelsinger’s recent comments that the company’s third-generation Gaudi AI processor, which would launch in the third quarter, would surpass competitors.
Gelsinger stated “20-plus” customers bought the second and third generations of Gaudi and that the Falcon Shores AI processor would launch in late 2025.
We’re nearing the end of a record-breaking speed of design and process technology innovation, and our product pipeline is promising to increase our AI market share.
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