Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Departing Intel exec to focus on loosening Nvidia's grip on AI for movies, games

Published 22/03/2023, 05:46 am
Updated 22/03/2023, 07:54 am
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) -Raja Koduri, the chief architect at Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), is leaving to start a company that aims to loosen longtime rival Nvidia Corp's grip on the digital movie and video game markets.

Koduri, whose departure was announced by Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger in a tweet on Tuesday, told Reuters his as-yet-unnamed company will aim to make a new wave of so-called generative artificial intelligence tools that work on chips from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) or even future chips based on open-source RISC-V technology.

New software tools can generate fresh imagery from just a text prompt and hold great promise for fields like visual effects and video games, Koduri said. But they typically are designed to work only on Nvidia chips.

Koduri said his first efforts will be aimed at creating a service that lets movie and game artists easily use those AI tools whether they are using a PC, Mac, iPad or other device without having to dive deep into software code.

Those artists "are not technical. They just get baffled by all this stuff," Koduri said.

Koduri, a veteran of Advanced Micro Devices and Apple Inc, joined Intel five years ago. He was part of a wave of outsiders hired by Intel, which had been known in the chip industry for promoting executives from within, to rethink the company's approach as it lost market share to rivals.

But Koduri, who has worked on nearly two dozen generations of computer graphics chips, has also had a long interest in movies. More than a decade ago, he helped fund a special effects firm in India called Makuta Effects that will be rolled into the new venture, and one of his cousins recently won an Oscar for work on the Telugu blockbuster "RRR."

Though he declined to give a dollar figure, Koduri said he has raised a round of seed funding for his new venture and that it will have a major presence in India as well as Singapore and the United States.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

He said the company would work on software to support chips made with open-source technology such as RISC-V.

"Any RISC-V based or open architecture based hardware that's available, we will be the first user to give them feedback and encourage them," he said. "Because to truly democratize AI computing for everybody, we have got to get the cost down dramatically."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.