In 2024, Intel experienced a significant loss, losing 60% of its value, the largest drop in its 53-year history. This led to Qualcomm considering a takeover offer. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger revealed an unlikely collaboration with AMD and dismissed rumors of his death at Lenovo Tech World ’24.
Intel announced Gelsinger’s retirement in December, and Nvidia is set to replace Intel in the Dow Jones after 25 years. However, Intel is preparing to make a comeback and continue building its AI software ecosystem, with an article exploring Intel’s roadmap for 2025-2027.
Comprehending AI Computers and the Function of the NPU
AI PCs use Intel’s dedicated AI accelerator, the neural processing unit (NPU), for low-power and high-efficiency tasks. This optimizes workloads from CPUs and GPUs, enhancing efficiency and allowing AI-powered applications to operate with minimal latency and power consumption, benefiting businesses.
Intel’s AI ecosystem combines CPU, GPU, and NPU for a balanced, scalable AI experience. AI PCs use the Intel Core Ultra processor family for real-time AI functionalities, security, and workflow automation.
Intel’s Arrow Lake-S desktop AI PCs were launched with Intel Core Ultra 200S processors. However, the company’s change in release strategy has made tracking the increasing number of chip types confusing. Intel has provided a clear roadmap for clarity.
Intel Core Ultra 2025 new
At CES in Las Vegas, Intel unveiled the advantages of its most recent Intel Core Ultra 200V series CPUs to kick off 2025. Without a doubt, Intel is making a final bet on artificial intelligence.
The Core Ultra 200HX and H series offer enhanced performance, efficient cores, AI acceleration, and Intel Arc graphics for high-performance gaming. The Intel Core Ultra 9 processors improve AI performance by 2x to 3x, making them ideal for AI-powered analytics and automation.
Core Ultra 2 processors, which come with more than 400 AI-driven capabilities built into Intel’s ecosystem, are about more than just raw power; they’re about integrating AI into daily computing, whether it is at home, in the workplace, or in high-end gaming and video production.
Lunar Lake: Intel’s Audacious On-Package DRAM Experiment
Lunar Lake, a mobile processor for AI PCs, was released in September 2024. Intel’s unique design integrated DRAM directly into the processor package, enhancing efficiency but making it more expensive and less flexible for laptop manufacturers. This unique design may be the last time Intel integrated DRAM directly into the processor package.
Intel’s Lunar Lake, manufactured by TSMC, offers performance gains but is higher cost and limited in customization, hindering widespread adoption in the budget laptop market, unlike Panther Lake, which will return to a traditional design.
Why Panther Lake Might Become Intel’s Most Aspiring Mobile Processor Up to This Point
Intel Panther Lake, a next-generation processor architecture, is set to launch in the second half of 2025, following Lunar Lake. It will be a notebook-first product, prioritizing mobile computing with a mix of next-gen P-cores and E-cores for improved efficiency and performance.
Intel is testing Panther Lake chips with customers, and systems are already running the new architecture. This marks a return to fully Intel-manufactured x86-64 cores, reducing reliance on TSMC’s fabrication process. This move is expected to lower costs and improve profit margins, although specific performance metrics are not shared.
Nova Lake 2026–2027
Nova Lake is expected to revolutionize computing by combining high-performance processing with AI capabilities. It will have up to 50 cores, a 60% IPC boost, and use TSMC’s 2nm process for improved speed and efficiency. The hybrid core design, which combines P-cores and E-cores, is expected to continue Intel’s hybrid approach.
Intel’s Nova Lake, featuring Xe3 Celestial graphics and last-level cache technology, aims to outperform AMD’s Ryzen chips and restore Intel’s dominance in desktop computing. However, actual performance depends on real-world benchmarks. If successful, Intel could establish a new standard for AI-powered computing, extending beyond PCs to autonomous systems, industrial automation, and research applications.
The Bottom Line
Intel’s complex naming strategy is making it difficult to track its processor lineup, and it needs to simplify its offerings. A rumor from leaker Jaykihn suggests Nova Lake-S will be the desktop successor to Arrow Lake-S in late 2026 or 2027, while Panther Lake will be exclusive to mobile devices.
Intel’s roadmap for 2025 and beyond should be viewed with caution due to the ongoing situation and the potential for unforeseen innovations in AI-first computing. The future of Intel remains uncertain, as businesses and consumers may not quickly embrace this new era of AI PCs, despite the potential for deliverables and milestones.
