Intel announces Facebook partnership for upcoming AI-based processor

Intel announced at CES on Monday that the company is working on a new kind of AI chip with Facebook. The chip, which is designed specifically to improve inference in AI, is set for release in the second half of 2019.
Representatives stated that the AI chip’s goal is to improve what is known in AI as inference. This is the process of taking an AI algorithm and then using it and applying it to new data. In the world of Facebook, for example, that could involve a feature like automatically tagging people in photos.

Intel’s Data Center Group Executive Vice President, Navin Shenoy, said that inference “tends to be a more difficult problem” to solve than some others in AI.
Shenoy also introduced the new class of chips, termed the “Intel Nervana Neural Network Processor for Inference.” Shenoy stated that the chip would handle tasks such as image recognition and classification, especially where social media was concerned. This, in turn, is where Facebook comes in.
The chip is set for release in the second half of 2019.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and Reuters