“Former Intel CEO Bob Swan reportedly scuttled the deal because had didn’t see AI models hitting the broad market anytime soon”
The offer on the table was a 15% stake in OpenAI for $1 billion, or a stake in exchange for selling it hardware at cost. Intel’s data center unit refused to make products at cost. Microsoft wrote the checks instead in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and Nvidia became the name in AI hardware. Intel’s big AI pitch now is Gaudi 3 with “over 20 customers.”