Intel CEO Chen Liwu Explores New CPU-Memory Stacking Architecture

Intel CEO Chen Liwu said during an appearance on the latest episode of the TechSurge podcast on Aug. 13 that demand for CPUs is enormous and that he fields daily calls from other chief executives who want more supply. To meet that demand, he said Intel is aggressively expanding CPU capacity and also developing new CPU architectures. Turning to memory, Chen said there are many ways to stack CPUs and memory, and that the industry has not innovated enough in memory, creating room for exploration. He acknowledged that he once avoided memory investments because he considered it a commodity business, but said that view has now changed. Chen also revealed that his friend Shock Lee, a former head of SK hynix, has joined, and he hinted that observers might guess what he is working on, while adding that nothing is ready to announce. He said he looks at short-, medium-, and long-term demand. On commitment, Chen said he typically stays at companies for 10 years — he cited Cadence — and that he is in it for 15 years at Intel. He told the board he focuses on a 10- to 15-year future and wants to build a platform that benefits the entire industry.