One of the biggest issues facing artificial intelligence (AI) development today is power consumption. With data centers pulling in wattage sufficient to require nuclear power plants to drive them, the idea that, perhaps, this technology uses too much energy to be effective is sticking in many minds. But chip stock Intel (INTC) may have an answer, a power-sipping AI that uses just 20 watts of power. This development gave Intel a boost in the field, as shares were up nearly 4% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Trade IBM with leverageIntel got together with IBM (IBM) and Mythworx to produce neuromorphic AI, which is an AI that operates similarly to how the human brain does. It puts together what amounts to a multitude of artificial neurons to process information in parallel and, ultimately, produce output. Doing it this way requires a staggeringly low quantity of power, about 20 watts all told. For reference, a standard LED light bulb putting out 1100 lumens only uses between 14 and 17 watts of power.
Better yet, neuromorphic AI requires no pretraining phase and works about like the human brain does, rewiring its own pathways as it learns. Reports suggest that Intel’s efforts in this vein, particularly the Hala Point research system, are currently simulating 1.15 billion neurons. It is actively being tested in healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics applications.
Taking On AMD
We know that AMD (AMD) is a major competitor of Intel’s these days, particularly on the individual user front. And now, Intel may actually have a processor that can take the fight to AMD’s strongest gaming central processor units (CPUs). Those processors come from the Nova Lake lineup.
The top end of the Nova Lake lineup will feature a whopping 52 cores, but chances are, that will not be available for most users. The more real-world designs feature eight, 16, and 28 cores, and the possibility of an improved cache certainly does not hurt matters for Intel. Being able to compete with AMD on more than price should be a big step forward for Intel’s operations.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on six Buys, 24 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 207.14% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $51.83 per share implies 20.4% downside risk.
