Intel Aims for $1 Billion in Software Sales by 2027

Chief Technology Officer Greg Lavender told Reuters that Intel’s software push is doing well and might generate $1 billion by 2027

Intel generated over $100 million in software revenue in 2021, when Lavender was recruited from VMware, a cloud computing company, by CEO Pat Gelsinger to guide the chipmaker’s software strategy. Intel has acquired three software companies since that time.

“I have a goal of getting to $1 billion of software and developer cloud subscription revenue,” said the executive. “I think I’m on track to hit this goal by the end of 2027 … maybe sooner.”

Intel, which generated $54 billion in revenue in 2023, provides various software services and tools for hire, including artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Lavender stated that his strategy is to concentrate on the provision of services in the areas of AI, performance, and security. The company has been making investments in all three of these areas.

In a separate statement, Lavender stated that Intel is experiencing “significant demand” for its forthcoming Gaudi 3 processor, which he believes has the potential to propel the company to the second position in the AI chip market.

So far, the AI processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have yet to make significant strides in challenging the market leader, Nvidia, which possessed approximately 83% of the data center chip market in 2023.

Lavender stated that Intel is assisting open-source initiatives aimed at developing software and tools capable of powering a diverse array of AI processors. She anticipates that there will be additional achievements in the months ahead.

Nvidia’s success is partially due to its software CUDA, which obligates developers to utilize Nvidia processors. According to sources, Nvidia is expected to face charges from France’s antitrust regulator for suspected anti-competitive behavior. The watchdog has expressed apprehension regarding the generative AI sector’s reliance on CUDA.

Intel is a member of the UXL Foundation. This technology company consortium jointly develops an open-source project to enable computer code to operate on any machine, irrespective of the hardware and chip that power it.

Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Arm Holdings are additional members. Lavender also stated that Intel is contributing to Triton. This OpenAI-led initiative aims to develop an open-source programming language that is intended to improve the efficiency of code on AI processors. The initiative is also receiving support from AMD and Meta.

Triton is operational on Intel’s graphics processing units and will be implemented on the organization’s forthcoming AI processors.
“Triton is going to level the playing field,” he said.