Intel is aiming to release a new AI chip designed for inference by the end of the year, directly challenging Nvidia's dominance in the data center GPU market. The company's data center unit leader confirmed the plan as Intel's shares have rallied more than 200% this year.
This move comes as Nvidia expands into consumer PC chips with the RTX Spark, an Arm-based family it claims is "the most efficient PC chip ever built." The chip is being developed in partnership with MediaTek and will power devices like the upcoming Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, which Microsoft says is its most powerful Surface ever.
Nvidia's senior director of product management Mark Aevermann made the efficiency claim without providing specific benchmarks or statistics. The RTX Spark is essentially the same GB10 chip used in Nvidia's DGX Spark mini-PC, according to reports.
Microsoft previously wrote off $900 million on an earlier Arm-based Nvidia chip for a Surface device but is now betting on the new partnership. The Surface Laptop Ultra, a 15-inch machine, has yet to disclose final specs or pricing, but Microsoft Surface boss Andrew Hill called it "the most powerful thing we've ever made."
The rivalry between Intel and Nvidia is intensifying as AI workloads shift from training to inference, where Intel's new chip aims to compete. However, Nvidia's expanding portfolio across data center, PC, and AI agent markets suggests it is not ceding ground easily.