Qualcomm Rolls Out New AI Chips

Qualcomm Inc has launched a new chip for boosting AI workload, aiming to expand its portfolio other than making mobile phone chips and step into a market where other big players like Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp currently dominate the chip-making industry. The announcement was made public on Tuesday.

During an event in San Francisco, the company unveiled its Cloud AI 100 chip testing plans with Microsoft Inc later this year. And the mass production of the chip will start from next year.

In reference to AI researchers, the new chip is exclusively created for what they call “inference” - the process of using an AI algorithm that has been “trained” with massive amounts of data in order to; for example, translate audio into text-based requests.

According to analysts, the most vital part of the AI chip market would be speeding up the interface.

The company is focused on producing energy-efficient AI chips that release less heat for those smaller “edge” data sites.  The same technique involved in developing chips for mobile phones, which operates on small batteries and live in pockets.

Intel and Nvidia produce more efficient chips that are used in data centers that consume more power and require sophisticated cooling systems.

In order to parlay its mobile chip specialists into data center sales, earlier the company had pushed itself and tried to directly compete with Intel’s primary business by selling CPU chips based on mobile phone chip technology.