Partners will play a ‘huge role’ in introducing Gaudi 3 AI chip in 2025

In an interview with CRN, Intel US channel head Michael Green admits that the rollout of the recently launched Gaudi 3 is a “slow process” as the company expands OEM support for the accelerator chip. “This is a completely new product that we are developing. We have plans to make this product available across sales channels in 2025,” he says.

Intel’s US channel chief Michael Green said channel partners will play a “huge role” in the semiconductor giant’s Gaudi 3 accelerator chip when it becomes a “channel product in 2025.”

Promised by Intel to include more cost-effective artificial intelligence systems than those using Nvidia GPUs, Gaudi 3 launched last month on Dell Technologies and Supermicro servers. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is expected to release its own Gaudi 3 system in December. Intel has not yet said when servers from other manufacturers, including Lenovo, will arrive.

(Connected: Analysis: Intel’s AI chip efforts stall as AMD gains advantage over Nvidia)

In a recent interview with CRN, Michael Green, who became head of Intel a new, expansive group of partners in North America this month admitted that the Gaudi 3 rollout is a “slow process” as the company expands OEM support for a product line that was previously only supported by one OEM, Supermicro, with its predecessor processor. As a result, Intel channel partners should not expect to sell Gaudi 3 systems until next year.

“We’re obviously already working with the Dells and Supermicros, really the Dells and HPEs of the world, to make sure it gets into the hands of partners. But let’s be honest: it’s a slow process, right? This is a completely new product that we are developing. We have plans to make this product available across sales channels in 2025,” he said.

“The channel plays a huge role in how we bring Gaudí 3 to the masses,” he added. “But if you go from Gaudi 2, where we had one OEM partner, to now four, that’s huge progress. So how do we take this and make it more applicable to channel partners? In our strategy, this will take a little time.”

In addition to Intel’s pitch that Gaudi 3 brings “price and performance advantages” to artificial intelligence systems, the chipmaker said the chip will find favor with enterprises due to Intel’s open ecosystem approach across hardware infrastructure, software platforms and applications.

For software, Intel says this open approach means partners and customers can choose from a variety of tools from multiple vendors to meet any AI software need. A key aspect of this approach is the Linux Foundation’s Open Platform for Enterprise Artificial Intelligence, which is intended to serve as a foundation for multi-vendor microservices that can be used for such systems.

Green said Intel will play a “key role” in helping channel partners connect with independent software vendors to build the required software stack for Gaudi 3 systems.

“We need to be the leading voice and the leading aggregator of all these ISV partners because together, that’s where we’ll really see improvements in what’s available to end users, what they can do in terms of cost optimization.” – he said.

Partners welcome Gaudí’s three-channel plan, but with some skepticism

Solution provider executives who spoke to CRN said Intel is moving ahead with its plan to push Gaudi 3 into this channel, especially as demand for AI infrastructure and the need for alternatives to Nvidia GPUs remain strong. But they disagreed on what opportunities Gaudí 3 might represent for Intel.

“At the end of the day, this channel is an amazing vehicle to not only launch, but implement and manage,” said Bob Venero, CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Future Tech Enterprise, No. 76 on CRN’s 2024 rankings. Solution Provider 500 list. “If the story holds up, we can make a big impact for them with this product.”

Venero believes Intel’s Gaudi 3 chip could make its way into enterprises if the semiconductor giant places emphasis on how it can power AI data centers with lower operating costs, such as energy, compared to GPU-based data centers Nvidia.

“You look at companies that are trying to build artificial intelligence farms and things like that, but there just isn’t enough power or cooling to do it, and that’s very important. So if I’m representing Intel, I base that message not just on price, but also on operating costs,” he said.

The solution provider’s CEO said he believes Intel could also benefit from its existing relationships in the corporate world, but that all depends on the chipmaker’s ability to develop a program that will allow partners to sell Gaudi 3 systems.

“You won’t get fired if you include Intel in your environment, right? So I think there’s going to be a lot of opportunity and growth for them, especially right away once partners can manage it and Intel can help build a program that allows them to manage it,” Venero said.

Alexey Stolyar, chief technology officer at International Computer Concepts, a Northbrook, Ill.-based systems integrator, told CRN that while he believes there is demand for alternatives to artificial intelligence systems based on Nvidia systems, he is not yet sure how big the opportunity is.

Although Stoljar said he is working on one Gaudi 3 project for a client, clients are still mostly talking about the latest Nvidia GPUs, including upcoming Blackwell chips and related platforms such as the GB200 NVL72 rack system.

“It’s not proportional yet,” he said.

Stoliar noted that the challenge of selling AI infrastructure to enterprises is that they tend to be slower than startups and hyperscalers when it comes to adopting new technologies, especially when the return on investment in AI is still unclear.

“Most of them don’t know how to use it yet, don’t know how to build systems, don’t know how to do anything with them yet, and it’s quite a big learning curve. Everyone wants it, but they are trying to understand what this means in terms of money? How are they going to make money from this?” – he said.

Dominic Daninger, vice president of engineering at Burnsville, Minn.-based Nor-Tech, told CRN that Intel’s biggest challenge in getting the market to adopt Gaudi 3 is Nvidia’s presence, especially as the competitor has expanded its software offerings .

“It’s going to be an uphill battle because Nvidia has dominated there for so long and had so much software infrastructure that people have adopted,” he said.

Daninger said Intel may be helped by the fact that Supermicro has begun making Gaudi 3 systems available through its JumpStart program for remote testing. But the executive added that his company had not yet thought about selling Gaudi 3 systems because customers had not asked about them.

“We would do it if we saw any interest or demand,” he said.

A senior executive at a solution provider ranked in the top 100 of CRN’s Solution Provider 500 said the channel will be the most important route to market for Intel Gaudi 3 because that’s how most enterprises buy IT infrastructure, and they will represent broader opportunities than the smaller group of companies making bulk purchases today.

“That’s where I think they have an incentive to give us the opportunity because we’re going to be the ones moving the needle probably more than they are,” said the executive, who asked not to be identified to speak candidly .

But while the solution provider said Gaudi 3 could benefit from having more alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs, it noted that another competitor, Intel, AMDRecently, it has been interacting much more actively with partners.

“Their sellers have split with our sellers. They are actively trying to win this battle for intimacy. And Intel has simply been too soft in this regard,” the executive said, adding that Intel massive job cuts were a constant source of concern.