Former Intel CEO: Why This is the Best Time to Build Hardware

The gist

1. AI tools have cut chip design to about 3 months, but fabrication still takes 9 months, so your workload assumptions are often stale before launch.
2. Gelsinger says US energy capacity grows only about 4% a year while AI demand surges, making power availability a core constraint for any hardware project.
3. Memory architecture has not seen a real breakthrough in 30 years, and Gelsinger expects new approaches using ferroelectrics, MRAM, and stacked designs to emerge soon.
4. Optical networking inside data centers looks inevitable by 2028 to 2029, but immature supply chains and unsolved packaging create 18 to 24 months of execution risk.