Will Intel kill its GPU business? I doubt it but I also don't like the odds
Will Intel end its torment by shuttering its graphics card business? It could be a 50/50 decision, says popular semiconductor analyst Jon Peddie(opens in new tab), as the company has been looking to be rid of dead weight.
«Should Intel dump its AXG group? Probably,» says Peddie.
«Intel is now facing a much stronger AMD and Nvidia, plus six start-ups—the rules of engagement have dramatically changed while Intel sunk money into projects it can’t seem to get off the ground.»
It's true that Intel has likely been facing a launch far worse than it had ever imagined for Intel Arc. The first generation of Alchemist gaming GPUs especially. The first wave of discrete Alchemist cards has failed to reach a worldwide market so far in 2022, and performance issues have turned Intel's most recent launch headache into a migraine(opens in new tab).
The group responsible for Intel's GPU development, the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group (AXG), reported a loss of $507 million in the previous three months, markedly more than its Q1 losses of $168 million.
That's not a tremendous amount of money to a goliath like Intel, though it is awfully poor timing. Intel posted a rare loss of $500M this last quarter.
Combine that with the competitiveness of both Nvidia and AMD with their most recent generations of GPUs, and that they're both looking to crank the generational handle once more with new architectures likely in the next six months or so, Intel is at risk of falling even further behind in graphics before it's even really got going.
Since Gelsinger’s return, Intel has dumped six businesses.
"… it’s a 50–50 guess whether Intel will wind things down and get out. If they don’t, the company is facing years of losses as it tries to
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