Intel’s first AI PC processor is on the road, and a wave of new hardware is on the market, and two main investment lines will surface soon.

Science and technology innovation board Daily, December 4th (edited by Song Ziqiao) The rapid development of AI not only promotes the application of large models, but also promotes the development of all kinds of intelligent hardware. Core chip suppliers are rushing to this new battlefield.

Following the announcement of the launch of the AI PC acceleration plan on October 19,Intel will present an AI hardware drama: at the "AI Everywhere" conference on December 14th, it officially launched the AI PC processor-the Core Ultra processor code-named Meteor Lake..

According to Intel, the Meteor Lake processor "represents the most significant architectural transformation of Intel in the past 40 years, laying the foundation for PC innovation in the next 10 years", aiming at "paving the way for the AI PC era": the chip adopts a separated module architecture, consisting of four independent modules, namely, a computing module, a SoC module, a graphics module and an IO module, which are connected by Foveros 3D packaging technology, among which the computing module adopts Intel 4 process technology for the first time, so that the Meteor.

This is also the first Intel CPU with built-in artificial intelligence acceleration engine NPU, which can realize energy-efficient AI acceleration and local reasoning on PC.

The industry expects that the first batch of laptops equipped with Meteor Lake processors will be available at the same time.

Acer, Asus and MSI have demonstrated notebook computers equipped with Meteor Lake processors. The AI capabilities of the three computers include image amplification, image editing, code writing and video editing.

Among them, ASUS will release the 2024 ASUS Core Ultra AI PC in the middle of this month (December 15th), and its first latest Core Ultra laptop, Lingyao 142024, has now opened an appointment, and the JD.COM shows that it is 8499 yuan.

Outside the above PC factories,Lenovo and HP will launch AI PC products in the second half of 2024.. Hewlett-Packard made it clear that the AI PC launched next year will use a processor from Intel and other companies.

▌ Two main investment lines surfaced.

According to the definition of IDC’s white paper "AI notebook computer causes scene change-terminal AI", AI PC is a PC with processor integrated with AI engine. This kind of PC has AI perception ability for voice and image information, and the software system is compatible with AI applications such as AI search, content generation and intelligent recommendation, and can contribute AI computing power.

Canalys, an analysis organization, predicts that by 2027, 60% of personal computers will have AI function. Canalys believes that the life cycle of Windows 10 is scheduled to end by the end of 2025, which will become a turning point for enterprises to widely adopt PCs with AI function. It is estimated that by the end of 2024, the new version of Windows will release AI enhancements, and AI tools will be generally integrated into business and productivity software. The AI PC market is expected to expand significantly in 2025 and 2026.

IDC predicts that the landing of AI applications will drive the PC market to grow steadily in the next few years, and the PC market in China will enter a new round of growth after falling back in 2023. By 2025, the shipments of the two parts will exceed 10 million and 20 million respectively, and the total market will exceed 34 million in 2027, of which the proportion of AI PC will reach 86%.

What are the investment directions?

Huatai Securities said that from the application point of view, knowledge quiz connected with enterprise databases, personal information-based tools and personal assistants may become the first batch of AI PC applications; From the perspective of chips, ARM chips with better support for AI applications may occupy more than 20% of the world’s important share after 2-3 years; From the perspective of PC brand, new applications and more chip suppliers will shorten the replacement cycle and increase the gross profit margin. Domestic PC industry chain investment, the analyst of this institution suggested to grasp the two main lines of AI PC development, ARM and localization-

（1）The promotion of AI PC to the industryEspecially the industrial opportunities brought by the evolution of PC chips from x86 to ARM architecture, the industrial chain sectors that benefit include brands, structural parts, storage, OEM and system integration.

（2）Opportunities for ecological localization of PCThe industrial chain sectors that benefit include domestic CPU/GPU, domestic storage, domestic operating system and software, and other domestic semiconductors.

Guotai Junan Cong Wang said that the leading position in the AI PC era will be further consolidated if the giants take the lead in deployment.Related supply chain enterprises have benefited deeply, including head PC brand upstream chips, components and ODM assembly enterprises..

Minsheng Securities proposes to pay attention to three sectors, namely, the global PC brand leader: Lenovo Group; PC ODM manufacturers: Hua Qin Technology, Wentai Technology; PC Semiconductor: Lanqi Technology, Tongfu Microelectronics, Demingli, Xiechuang Data, Xinhai Technology, Long Xun, Lixin Micro; PC components: Hanbo Hi-tech, Tonglian Precision, Shenghong Technology, Chunqiu Electronics, Everbright Tongchuang, Huichuangda, etc.