Intel provides developers with one-stop solutions in areas such as AI, security, and quantum computing

Intel helps developers accelerate innovation with an open, software-first approach

Intel provides developers with one-stop solutions in areas such as AI, security, and quantum computing.

News Highlights

• Intel introduced new services and tools to help developers reduce time to market and improve performance and security. Intel continues to deliver on its commitment to an open ecosystem, solution options and a foundation of trust.

• Intel continues to develop the open oneAPI specification, which will now be managed by Intel subsidiary Codeplay.

• Leidos is one of the first companies to trial Intel's upcoming Project Amber authentication service.

• Intel and Red Hat have launched a joint solution that combines Intel’s AI product portfolio with Red Hat OpenShift Data Science based on the Joint AI and Edge Developer Program.

• The new Intel Quantum Software Development Kit (SDK) is designed to help developers learn how to write quantum algorithms and connect with Intel’s quantum computing stack.

• Following the initial release of four AI reference kits in July, Intel has released three new AI reference kits specifically for healthcare use cases.

On September 28, 2022, on the second day of the Intel On Technology Innovation Summit, Intel detailed its efforts and investments in promoting an open ecosystem, from chips to systems to all levels of the application and software stack, and how it can become a catalyst for innovation in the developer community.

Through its expanding range of platforms, tools and solutions, Intel is focused on helping developers improve their productivity, enabling them to better realize their potential and contribute to society. In addition, Intel has launched new tools to support developers in the fields of AI, security and quantum computing, and announced the first customers of the new Project Amber certification service.

“Intel is delivering on its software-first strategy by enabling an open ecosystem to innovate together and continuously,” said Greg Lavender, Intel CTO. “We are committed members of the developer community. Through co-innovation and collaboration, the breadth and depth of our hardware and software assets will create endless opportunities for all.”

Empowering developers with openness

Intel On Technology Innovation Summit is mainly for the developer community. In the opening keynote speech on the second day of the summit, Greg Lavender emphasized the commitment to openness, choice and trust. His speech started with oneAPI, a cross-industry, open, standard-based programming model that enables developers to solve specific problems by choosing the right architecture. Based on the existing applications and practices of oneAPI, oneAPI is transforming from an industry initiative to a community forum to determine the future direction of development while meeting the evolving needs of developers, software vendors, national laboratories, researchers and chip vendors.

Codeplay, an Intel subsidiary with expertise and track record in driving open standards and delivering cross-platform adoption of SYCL and oneAPI tools, will now take on responsibility for the oneAPI development community.

Intel will continue to provide developer tools and easy-to-use toolkits based on the oneAPI specification. Intel's latest oneAPI 2023 toolkit will be released in December, including tools such as the open source SYCLomatic compatibility tool to support Intel's upcoming new CPU, GPU and FPGA architectures. SYCLomatic can help convert CUDA source code to SYCL source code, providing developers with more choices in computing architecture.

At the same time, Intel announced that six new oneAPI Centers of Excellence have been established in educational and research institutions to expand oneAPI's support for important applications and develop more oneAPI courses. The new Centers of Excellence include Peking University's School of Software and Microelectronics, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Israel Institute of Technology, the University of Utah in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California, San Diego, and the Berlin Zuse Institute.

For developers who want to build AI solutions in a fast, efficient and industry-specific way, Intel has released three new AI reference kits for healthcare - document automation, disease prediction and medical imaging diagnosis. Together with the four AI reference kits released in July, developers can find them on GitHub.

“We want to make it easy for developers to access advanced software technologies through the open source ecosystem and the products Intel delivers,” said Greg Lavender, Intel’s chief technology officer. “You may not realize that about 90%1 of developers are using software developed or optimized by Intel, according to Evans Data Corp.’s 2021 Global Development Survey. Intel has not only been a major contributor to the Linux kernel for more than a decade, but has also recently helped integrate the oneDNN performance library into TensorFlow.”

Enhanced security enables new services: e-prescribing and remote care

At the intersection of open software, hardware solutions and business needs, new opportunities lie ahead, such as the new electronic prescription project currently being actively promoted in Germany.

The electronic prescription solution developed by IBM integrates Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) and Gramine to provide a first-class customer experience while meeting platform integrity and strict security requirements. Intel, as a major contributor to the Gramine open source project, allows the German National Digital Health Agency to improve integrity and confidentiality through SGX secure enclaves with minimal adjustments.

Thanks to Project Amber, there are more and more practical cases in reality. Project Amber is a software-as-a-service product for confidential computing proof, launched at Intel Vision in May this year. Leidos, an important technology supplier to the US federal government, is working with Project Amber to conduct a proof of concept to protect veterans' health information for future use in mobile clinics.

Liz Porter, president of Leidos Health Group, shared the stage with Lavender and noted, “Thanks to Project Amber, Leidos does not have to build and maintain complex and expensive attestation systems, allowing us to focus on our core differentiators, such as intelligent automation and analytics driven by AI and machine learning.”

Accelerating innovation in AI, quantum computing, and neuromorphic computing, and looking forward to future developments

Another benefit of open technology is that it can be integrated into various solutions from different professional vendors and customers. During the speech, Red Hat CTO Chris Wright announced via video link that Red Hat's OpenShift Data Science Cloud Service has been "integrated into the Intel AI product line. Therefore, developers can use the Intel AI Analysis Toolkit and OpenVINO tools to train and deploy models."

Red Hat is working to use the Habana® Gaudi® training accelerator in its services to provide "cost-effective, high-performance deep learning model training and deployment, all as a managed cloud service." Wright also announced the launch of the Intel and Red Hat AI Developer Program, which "aims to make it easier for developers to learn, test and deploy models using Red Hat's OpenShift Data Science and Intel's integrated AI and edge portfolio."

For those ready to take their acceleration needs into the future, Intel announced the Intel Quantum Software Development Kit (Intel Quantum SDK), designed to help developers learn how to write quantum algorithms and begin to realize the full potential of this emerging technology. The beta version is currently available through the Intel Developer Cloud platform.

Greg Lavender also introduced the progress in post-quantum cryptography. At the Intel On Industry Innovation Summit in May this year, Intel introduced a three-stage methodology to deal with the cryptographic security threats brought by the development of quantum computers, and post-quantum cryptography is one of them. Recent progress in standardization and increasing awareness of the urgency of opportunities and risks is "an important step for our industry to be ready to deal with Y2Q or fight against quantum computing by 2030," Greg Lavender said. "Many people believe that the impact of Y2Q will be greater than the 'millennium bug' in 2000."

To commercialize neuromorphic technology, Intel Research announced that it will provide developers with new tools, including Kapoho Point, a stackable multi-board platform based on the Loihi 2 research chip, and update the Lava open source software development framework. In addition, the Intel Neuromorphic Research Community (INRC) has also added new members and eight university projects supported by Intel.

Another way Intel fosters future innovation is through education and collaboration with academia. Today, Intel announced the Intel® Rising Star Faculty Award program to recognize young university faculty who have made significant contributions to the semiconductor and computing industries through research or teaching through innovative and disruptive ideas.

This year's winners come from 15 institutions around the world and have made important achievements in research in areas ranging from AI to quantum materials, innovative teaching methods, and increasing inclusion of minorities and women in computer science and engineering.