For three years, artificial intelligence infrastructure has been dominated by one idea: Bigger is better. Bigger models, bigger clusters, and bigger checks written to a small group of suppliers. At this week’s Open Compute Project Global Summit, Intel Corp. argued that the next phase of AI will look very different and that Intel is well-positioned to benefit.
For most of its history, Cisco Systems Inc. won by building vertically integrated network products and asking customers to buy all of it. The company did very well with that model. Security, meanwhile, was something Cisco sold as a separate product line rather than something that was inherent to its infrastructure. Patching a core switch meant scheduling a maintenance window, crossing your fingers and hoping nothing broke.