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AMD and Intel's x86 Avengers assemble at Lenovo Tech World to defend tech legacy

Analysts and futurists are increasingly predicting the end of x86, so the CEOs of AMD and Intel took to the stage to form the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group to quash any fears, including their own.

AMD and Intel chips

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Neil C. Hughes
Neil C. Hughes Contributor
Oct 22, 2024 5 min read

At Lenovo Tech World '24 in Seattle last week, Yuanqing Yang, the CEO of the largest PC maker in the world, predictably laid out a vision for a future where hybrid AI seamlessly blends personal, enterprise, and public AI across Lenovo devices.

However, if you looked beyond the hype surrounding AI PCs for ultra productivity and new sustainable water cooling to power NVIDIA Blackwell and AI at every scale, you would see that something much bigger was going on.

Analysts and futurists are increasingly predicting the end of x86, so the CEOs of AMD and Intel took to the stage to form the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group to quash any fears, including their own. The supergroup includes tech heavyweights Broadcom, Dell, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., Lenovo, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat. If big tech had created its own Avengers Assemble, this would have been exactly what it would have looked like.

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Underfire Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger jokingly told the audience, "Some have said the x86 is done. Well, I'll tell you, rumors of my death are severely exaggerated. We are alive and well, and the x86 is thriving."

With the first wave of AI PCs running Arm chips continuing to land body blows on Intel and AMD's market dominance, these longstanding rivals announced a partnership to confront the challenge of a shared adversary and win the AI arms race.

"x86 has been the foremost leader in architecture over the last 40 years, and the idea is AMD and Intel are bringing together all of these founding members who can accelerate the pace of innovation going forward." - AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su.

A press release was simultaneously posted on AMD and Intel's websites, highlighting three key areas that the big tech alliance will focus on to protect the future of the world's most widely used computing architecture.

  • Enhancing customer choice and compatibility across hardware and software while accelerating their ability to benefit from new, cutting-edge features.
  • Simplifying architectural guidelines to enhance software consistency and interfaces across x86 product offerings from Intel and AMD.
  • Enabling greater and more efficient integration of new capabilities into operating systems, frameworks, and applications.

With Intel and AMD singing from the same hymn street in a carefully choreographed announcement, many online were left questioning why it took a competitor breathing down their necks to improve how they enhance compatibility, predictability, and consistency.

Apple's AI-focused M4 chip is just one example of how Arm chips are stealing headlines away from AMD and Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. But how did we get here?

Tech Avengers unite to guard x86 against ARM's onslaught

Intel famously developed the x86 architecture, which has remained a foundational technology in computing for more than four decades. Under a legal agreement, AMD also manufactures competing x86 chips by licensing this architecture from Intel.

Despite their longstanding rivalry, Intel and AMD face increasing competition from Arm, which has traditionally dominated the smartphone and IoT markets. The shifting dynamics became more pronounced with Arm's integration into Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative and its growing presence in hyperscale data centers.

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Other big tech players like Apple and Google are also pivoting towards Arm-based solutions. Moving away from Intel and AMD, Apple has adopted Arm-based processors for its devices, enhancing their performance and efficiency. Similarly, Google has developed its custom Arm-based Axion processors, further solidifying Arm's foothold.

Elsewhere, Qualcomm is making significant inroads in the competitive laptop market with its Snapdragon X Elite and Plus series, directly targeting Intel's dominance and planning an expansion into desktops.

Qualcomm's aggressive strategy and a universal compatibility feature of Arm chips that allow them to run the same Arm software across different manufacturers' hardware adds pressure on Intel and AMD. This feature contrasts with the x86 architecture, which often requires specific software adjustments for chip compatibility.

Despite the event being located in Seattle, just over 10 minutes away from Microsoft, Satya Nadella phoned in with his keynote but pledged his support for the alliance.

"x86 has been foundational to modern computing for over four decades, and we want to ensure it continues to evolve and benefit everyone going forward. The x86 Ecosystem Advisory Board will play a critical role in shaping future x86 architectural features and help drive software consistency and standard interfaces."
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella.

The formation of a new x86 advisory group aims to address the well-documented challenges by enhancing cross-compatibility and adapting to the requirements of emerging technologies. However, it remains to be seen if this initiative can effectively counter Arm's rising dominance and restore x86's competitive edge in the evolving tech landscape.

"By simplifying and standardizing across the x86 ecosystem, we can unlock new levels of performance, efficiency, and ease of use, ultimately accelerating the development and adoption of cutting-edge technologies."
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

The x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group has been described as an all-star alliance and yet another peace declaration that has become a common theme in the tech industry this year.

OpenAI and Google Gemini were not mentioned at Lenovo Tech World. But Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was featured on stage via a video call to remind the audience that Lenovo's new personal AI was built on Llama. He even boldly claimed that Llama could be "the Linux of AI."

NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang, AKA the Taylor Swift of tech, is famous for raiding Negan's wardrobe from The Walking Dead. But he also hit the stage in Seattle to share how he sees AI enabling superhuman productivity and how AI agents are already helping employees across industries be more efficient and productive. But he also had lots to say about X86.

X86 is very important to us. We support it for PCs, workstations, and data centers. And so the fact that the architecture was fragmenting isn’t good for the industry. So I love what they’re doing. - Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO via CRN

Although Lenovo Tech World used buzzwords such as "Hybrid AI" and "building a smarter AI for all," the bigger story is one of partnerships and collaboration.

If the unlikely collaboration of Intel and AMD sounds familiar, maybe it's because just a few weeks ago, the highlight of Oracle's event was when founder and chairman Larry Ellison's keynote was joined on stage by his adversary, Matt Garman, CEO of AWS, to reveal a strategic partnership rather than a product announcement.

Just a few months ago, the idea of Intel and AMD or Oracle and Amazon Web Services sharing a conversation, a stage, or a partnership was unthinkable. But something is changing, and AI is at the heart of it all.

The new show of strength and unity in the tech industry highlights a collective realization that it will take an entire village to ensure AI lives up to its future promises. Tech CEOs are finally putting their egos aside and facing the reality that AI is bigger than big tech.

Moving towards an open ecosystem of innovation that brings together the best in breed in every component of a total solution proves that technology works best when it brings people together. Even former enemies.

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