The CEO of Intel has declared that x86 hardware is anything but dead, announcing a new expert partnership that will see it join up with old rival AMD to promote the technology.
Speaking at Lenovo Tech World 2024, Pat Gelsinger took to the stage to announce the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group, an all-star alliance that could go a long way to ensuring it stays popular for some time.
“Some have said, well, you know, is the x86 done?” Gelsinger said on stage. “Well, I’ll tell you, rumours of my death are severely exaggerated. We are alive and well, and the x86 is thriving.”
x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group
The new group is made up of some of the biggest names in the technology sphere today, including leaders from Microsoft, Google, HPE and Dell.
Representatives from Broadcom, HP Inc, Lenovo, Meta, Oracle, Epic Games and Red Hat are also present, alongside Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux.
The move may have been prompted by the growing presence of ARM-based chips from Qualcomm, including the Snapdragon X family, which have looked to target the quick-growing AI PC market.
This had led some industry observers to predict x86 may be on the way out – a notion the new collective is keen to dispel, noting in an accompanying press release, “for over four decades, x86 has served as the bedrock of modern computing, establishing itself as the preferred architecture in data centers and PCs worldwide.”
“The advisory group brings together leaders from across the ecosystem to shape the future of the x86 to simplify software development, to ensure interoperability and interface consistency, to provide developers with standard architecture tools, instruction sets, to have a clear view of the future,” he added.
Among the aims of the new group is boosting compatibility across hardware and software, including simplifying architectural guidelines to enhance software consistency and interfaces.
“We think of it as one of the most significant periods of innovation in front of us, and we see that the x86 architecture, this foundation of computing for decades, is about to go through a period of customisation, expansion, scalability,” Gelsinger declared, highlighting the terrific opportunities offered by the growth of AI, which he said meant, “our ecosystem is robust and growing”.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su was also on stage at Lenovo Tech World, and was quick to cheer the new partnership, noting the news shows, “just how unique a time this is in technology.”
“At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is accelerate compute and accelerate the adoption of compute,” she said. “x86 has been the foremost leader in architecture over the last 40 years, and the idea is that AMD and Intel are bringing together all of these founding members (who) can really accelerate the pace of innovation going forward.”
Looking forward, the group will continue to promote x86, and could be the start of a greater co-operation and collaboration among technology giants going forward.
“For once Lisa and Pat agreed on something,” Gelsinger chuckled, “who would have thunk?”