Inflection AI shifts to Intel Gaudi 3, challenging Nvidia’s AI chip lead

Intel’s attempts at AI chips

The notable aspect of Inflection AI’s move is its departure from Nvidia, which continues to dominate the AI chip market. Previously, Inflection AI’s Pi consumer application operated on Nvidia GPUs.

“Nvidia has captured much of the market with hyperscalers and key enterprises,” said Neil Shah, partner & co-founder at Counterpoint Research. “However, AI is expanding across various industries, creating ample opportunity. This shift allows Intel to be competitive on price and potentially regain customers by offering a stronger price-performance balance compared to Nvidia.”

Significantly, Inflection AI’s decision showcases Intel Gaudi 3 as a viable alternative to Nvidia, which is largely sold out for the next several years, according to Hyoun Park, CEO and chief analyst at Amalgam Insights.

“Because large companies have taken up the majority of current AI chip inventory, enterprises must start looking at other options,” Park said. “With both IBM and Inflection AI making a bet on Intel, enterprises now have a potential option to look at a cheaper and arguably higher performance chip to build custom models.” 

While Nvidia’s chips may offer superior speed, Intel is relying on Gaudi 3’s lower price and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) to bolster its competitive edge.

In a blog post, Inflection AI said that running Inflection 3.0 on Intel’s Gaudi 3 yields “up to 2x improved price performance, along with 128GB of high-bandwidth memory at 3.7 TB/sec, delivering optimal generative AI performance compared to current competitive offerings.”