Intel is setting up a new innovation hub in Shenzhen to help domestic start-ups, even as the U.S. government puts increasing pressure on semiconductor firms to reduce trade with the country. Intel and the Nanshan district government in Shenzhen, a technology hub in southern China, launched the Intel Greater Bay Area Innovation Center, which will focus on artificial intelligence (AI), chip applications and edge computing, among other technologies.
The district government aims to use the partnership to develop the district into a global “innovation highland” through a combination of industrial policy, Intel’s product and technology ecosystem, and innovation from local partners. “We will further leverage Intel’s technology and ecosystem strengths, facilitate the integration and development of emerging sectors in the Greater Bay Area and across the country, and help develop the digital economy,” Intel China Chairwoman Wang Rui said at the center’s unveiling event.
Intel is one of the U.S. tech companies trying to maintain business in the world’s second-largest economy amid the souring of U.S.-China ties that has seen Washington ramp up chip export restrictions. The tech war has also bolstered demand for electronic components in China, and for chips in particular. Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger concluded a low-key trip to China in July, his second to the country in three months. For the Shenzhen center, Intel will partner with six local tech firms, including gadget maker Ugreen and fabless integrated circuit firms Senary Technology Group and Chipsea Technologies, which all signed an agreement with Intel during the launch event. The companies will set up multiple joint labs to research areas including low-carbon and energy-saving IT solutions, PC and server chips, and smart transport. Intel also pledged technical and resource support for companies located in Nanshan, helping with market roll-outs and industry access.
The new innovation center comes just two weeks after Intel launched a processor designed to train AI systems that meets U.S. export requirements so that it can be sold to Chinese clients. Many companies are in dire need of advanced AI chips since the U.S. limits on the sale of semiconductors to China cut off access to Nvidia’s popular A100 and H100 graphic processing units. During the introduction of the Gaudi 2 AI processor in Beijing in mid-July, Intel Executive Vice President Sandra Rivera said the chip was designed to lower entry barriers and enhance Chinese clients’ ability “to deploy AI through cloud and smart-edge technologies, helping build up China’s AI future”, the South China Morning Post reports.
