Intel confident of relationship with partners despite challenges

“When it comes to AI, AI runs best on Intel, and in the partnership that we have with Lenovo, we want to make that count,” said George Chacko, Director, Global Account Sales, for APJ at Intel.

With tariffs and sanctions on semiconductor technology continuing to be a major concern in the industry, providing visibility on the supply chain may give Intel’s partners and customers the capability to understand the company’s plans in the long run as well.

One partner that is confident in their relationship with Intel is Lenovo. Lenovo relies on Intel’s chips to power its devices, including its latest Aura series laptops, which are being seen as a game changer for the company’s AI PC devices.

The Lenovo Aura Edition imagined with Intel is the result of a multi-year collaborative development process between Lenovo and Intel to create a set of distinct software, hardware, and AI features that streamline the PC experience and make computing a more personalized, productive, and protected experience.

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Lenovo unveiled several new models including the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, a device that leverages the Intel Core Ultra processor to deliver advanced AI capabilities, exceptional display technology, and powerful processing.

According to Ivan Cheung, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific at Lenovo, it goes down to the relevant providers to offer the best solution for the customers. He explained that Lenovo has a strong working relationship not only with Intel but also with AMD and Qualcomm.

“Our working relationship with Intel is the longest compared with other companies. We definitely treasure the relationship with Intel. However, the key thing is that Lenovo can also partner with different companies to offer the best solution for the customer,” said Cheung during during Lenovo’s Discover Lenovo Aura Edition AI PCs event in Japan recently.

Echoing Cheung’s remarks on Intel’s long partnership with Lenovo is George Chacko, Director, Global Account Sales, for APJ at Intel.

“It’s been a wonderful journey that we've been on. And I'm here to promise that when it comes to AI, AI runs best on Intel, and in the partnership that we have with Lenovo, we want to make that count. So, 30 years of partnership with Lenovo, and we're just on a journey that just refuses to slow down. I'm proud to be part of that journey, not just on PCs, but from pocket to cloud, on data centers, on the edge, and we're just going to bring better and better experiences,” said Chacko, who was also present at Lenovo’s event in Japan.

Chacko also highlighted that compared to what Intel was giving in the last edition, they are increasing the AI experience four times with Lenovo to enable a stronger OS that provides better experiences to users.

“We're working with more than 100 ISPs and trying to bring together more than 500 applications that will work just better on these new PCs. We're putting a lot of effort into it. And it is true, because it's not just the NPU but data as well. When you look at applications, 30% of them actually use the CPU to make the AI work better. 40% use GPU, so everything that is visual is using the GPU side of the engine inside the processor. And NPUs are 30% for long-latency tasks. It's all of these three engines coming together that give the users the best experience possible. And we want to make sure that when it is AI, it runs best on Intel,” explained Chacko.

Building on legacy

For Chacko, the relationship with Lenovo is also built on the fact that they work closely with their partners right from the start. Chacko believes this enables them to define a product and not just slow it into the profile.

“This is what differentiates our partnership. Obviously, the performance that we have, the kind of legacy that we have, is much better than our competition and we feel really confident about it. And legacy is something that we're really proud of. We know the customer and our partners very well. We know what the customer requirements are. So, on the PC side, in terms of performance and experience, we are way better. So, we are really confident about where we are,” explained Chacko.

When asked about how Intel plans to deal with supply chain concerns that could arise from potential tariffs in the industry, Chacko stated that there isn’t any problem with this at all.

“Both our companies are multinational companies that have supply chains across the globe that are diversified. And we just are confident about how our supply chains will work. So, we have no worries at all on that side,” said Chacko.

Supply chain visibility

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Intel unveiled the Assured Supply Chain (ASC) program which is designed to provide additional transparency and assurance in the silicon manufacturing process. Given the increasing concerns on how materials are sourced and used in chip manufacturing, the specialized client system-on-chip (SoC) solution provides a digitally attestable chain of custody of each chip’s progress through the chip manufacturing process.

Specifically, ASC leverages a dedicated chip manufacturing pathway through specific Intel manufacturing locations. Intel is hoping the solution delivers added transparency into processor manufacturing, assuring customers about the locations of their silicon supply chain.

With a robust network of manufacturing facilities in locations around the globe and strong ecosystem partnerships, Intel believes this offering of enhanced transparency and verifiable silicon chain of custody would allow customers to have better visibility on the components on their devices.

According to Intel, the initial rollout of ASC will be available on select Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) commercial mobile and desktop SKUs with production and first customer shipping scheduled for later in the second half of 2025.

Intel not only remains one of the biggest semiconductor companies in the world, but also one of the most influential ones. Given its presence in the industry for more than half a century, the chip company has evolved and remains to play a key role in the industry despite the challenges it is facing from competitors like TSMC, NVIDIA and AMD.

Today, Intel faces uncertainties not only on its leadership and direction but also on who eventually may take over the business. While there have been rumors of potential takeovers and such, Intel continues to focus on developing its chips, making sure it continues to remain a strong player in the industry.