(MENAFN- AzerNews) Intel's recent struggles in the fiercely competitive semiconductor market have reached a critical point, with the company's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, admitting that Intel has fallen behind in the AI race, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.

According to Oregon Tech, Tan recently confirmed internally that Intel is no longer ranked among the top 10 semiconductor companies, a sharp contrast to its previous position as a dominant player in the industry.

In recent years, Intel has encountered a series of setbacks, including poor reception of its hybrid architecture and ongoing challenges in the GPU market. While Intel has long been a leader in CPU technology, competitors like AMD and Nvidia, along with tech giants such as Apple, have rapidly closed the gap, especially in the fast-evolving AI and data center sectors.

Tan's candid admission comes alongside a major restructuring initiative at Intel, which includes widespread layoffs as part of a cost-cutting strategy. The company is also recovering from a staggering $16 billion loss last quarter, largely driven by soaring research and development expenses.

In response to its struggles, Intel is shifting its focus to edge AI, a strategy that aims to bring processing power directly to devices instead of relying on cloud-based computing. Tan believes this pivot could help Intel regain some relevance in the rapidly changing tech landscape, particularly as AI applications continue to proliferate.

While Tan has acknowledged that Intel is lagging behind in the AI race, he remains optimistic about the company's future. The goal is to refocus efforts on autonomous AI systems and other areas where Intel can still lead, such as edge computing and specialized hardware.

Despite these hopeful plans, many in the industry view Intel's current predicament as the result of missed opportunities to capitalize on emerging trends. Competitors have not only taken the lead in AI but have also established strong footholds in data center hardware and specialized chips, leaving Intel with considerable ground to cover.

Intel is also looking to make significant strategic changes, including attracting new talent and potentially restructuring its core operations. The big question remains whether these efforts will be enough to reverse the company's fortunes or if it will continue to fall behind more agile competitors in an increasingly dynamic tech market.

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