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VMware Explore 2026: The Conference Brings Technical Sessions, Labs and Certs to IT Practitioners
Intel showcased three architectures for Agentic AI and enterprise-scale workloads at Hot Chips 2026, combining the Diamond Rapids processor for high-performance orchestration, the Crescent Island GPU for efficient inference, and the Wildcat Lake SoC for intelligent client and edge computing. The processors are underpinned by Intel Foundry technologies including the Intel 18A process family, Foveros Direct 3D packaging, and early adoption of the UCIe industry standard for open chiplet interconnects. Diamond Rapids, built exclusively on Intel technology including the power- and performance-enhanced Intel 18A-P, introduces a new architecture with up to 256 cores, 1.28 GB LLC, 16 memory channels at 12800 MT/s, 128 lanes of PCIe Gen6 and CXL 3.0. It combines adaptable compute building blocks, a unified memory fabric, and flexible I/O, along with new Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) and enhanced Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX) to accelerate next-gen AI applications. Crescent Island reframes the economics of real-time AI inference as a low-power, easy-to-deploy GPU with 32 Xe cores and 256 XMX engines based on Xe3P, up to 480GB LPDDR5X memory, and a 350-watt air-cooled PCIe card. Designed for sustained inference performance and maximum token throughput, it enables larger models and longer context windows within existing air-cooled data center footprints. Wildcat Lake, launched as Intel Core Series 3 processors, brings right-sized AI capabilities to price-sensitive laptops and intelligent edge platforms. Built on Intel 18A, it combines new CPU cores (2P+4E) with integrated Xe3 graphics featuring XMX acceleration and an NPU delivering up to 17 TOPS. It marks the first use of UCIe in an Intel processor, enabling cost-effective multi-chip package designs. “Agentic AI is fundamentally changing how we design and deliver computing,” said Pushkar Ranade, CTO, Intel. The future is about tightly integrating general-purpose compute with purpose-built acceleration, advanced packaging and open chiplet technologies to build systems that can adapt to the workload and scale within real-world constraints.