Tan believes the PC will see a renaissance as AI workloads shift to the client, whether on PCs or agentic boxes, despite memory-related headwinds.
We do think that the PC is going to go through a renaissance despite this. We think that as AI workloads start to shift around, there's going to be a lot of workload required in the client space, either as a PC or as some kind of agentic box.
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Tan says he is determined to reclaim Intel's CPU leadership and is doubling or tripling down on customer-customized processors as a fast-growing area.
We have to reclaim the leadership in CPU. That is something that I am very determined to do. I'm modifying it for customer needs, and so that, to me, is a fast-growing area, and I'm double, triple down on it.
Tan said customers have recently begun signaling a PC slowdown driven by memory prices and availability.
In recent weeks, our customers began signaling a PC slowdown based on the memory prices and availability.
Tan believes GPUs excel at AI thinking while CPUs are far more energy-efficient for running AI agents, and the server CPU market could grow up to fivefold from about $40 billion over five years.
could increase as much as five times from where it is today
Lip-Bu Tan expects global PC shipments to fall 12% in 2026 and another 10% in 2027.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said global PC shipments could fall 12% in 2026. He expects another 10% drop in 2027.
Tan blamed component shortages and rising memory prices for delayed PC purchases, with the correction accelerating over the past two months.
Tan pointed to component shortages and rising memory prices. He said those could lead buyers to delay purchases. He added that the correction sped up over the past two months.