Intel CEO admits: 'we are not in the top 10 semiconductor companies' anymore

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told employees this week that he doesn't consider Intel among the world's leading chip companies, saying: "Twenty, 30 years ago, we are really the leader. Now I think the world has changed. We are not in the top 10 semiconductor companies".

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The company is too far behind to catch up with NVIDIA in developing technology to train AI, with the new CEO saying that customers are giving Intel failing grades, and that a turnaround for Intel would be a "marathon". Tan said that the recent layoffs that he ordered are a move to make Intel more like its chip-making rivals NVIDIA, AMD, and Broadcom. Tan said "we have to be humble" and that Intel staff need to listen to customers, and respond to their needs.

Intel has a market cap of only $100 billion right now, and if you compare that to NVIDIA, which recently hit a milestone $4 trillion market cap, Intel is not just behind, it's almost like a sinking ship in comparison. Intel replaced its CEO Pat Gelsinger, falling radically behind AMD in the CPU business, and has failed the AI business and left it to NVIDIA.

Intel held a question-and-answer session this week, with Tan coincided with the start of its mass layoffs that saw thousands of Intel staffers lose their jobs. More staffers will lose their jobs in the weeks and months ahead, as it has shut down its automotive business, outsourced its marketing department, and slices up to one-fifth of its manufacturing operations.

Intel is scratching to keep up with its competitors, with Tan noting: "there's a lot of work to do" and that its PC business is "doing a bit better", adding that Intel needs to strengthen its architecture in order to meet the demands of advanced computing.

When it comes to AI chips, Intel has no advanced GPUs of its own and has been essentially shut out of the AI boom and left it to NVIDIA and AMD. Tan said: "on training I think it's too late for us" and that NVIDIA's position in the AI market is simply "too strong".

Instead, Tan said that Intel will be focusing on "edge" artificial intelligence, where it will bring AI capabilities directly to PC and other devices, instead of operating in centralized computers. The Intel CEO also said that the company wants to explore agentic AI, a new field that enables AI to operate independently without continual direction from people.