[PENANG] The rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) has disrupted the global semiconductor industry, as key players enter a race to offer more powerful, more efficient hardware to support the growing AI workload.

Intel, one of the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturers by revenue, is pivoting towards the AI arena in its quest to take back the No 1 spot in the industry. The pole position is now held by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with its new AI-powered processors.

Steve Long, Intel’s corporate vice-president and general manager for the Asia-Pacific and Japan, said the world is undergoing a generational shift in which “AI will be everywhere”.