Summary

  • Intel's new CEO openly acknowledges past failures in somber keynote.
  • Lip-Bu Tan plans to spin off non-core units to refocus on engineering.
  • Tan promises a new beginning, aiming for future perfection.

"There are areas where we have fallen short of expectations." "I am not happy with our current position." "You deserve better."

Those are some of the quotes from Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who made his first public appearance as the leader of Intel during the company's Vision event. It's not what you expect to hear from a tech CEO in 2025, especially one that's been bleeding money for the better part of a year. Seemingly making up for lost time, the keynote grounded itself in Intel's "past mistakes," embracing the dire position the company is in rather than running from it.

A new beginning for Intel?

Not much has changed

Intel's ousted former CEO Pat Gelsinger addressed audiences with excitement, which was a tone that became increasingly disconnected from reality as the company faced financial turmoil, countless rounds of layoffs, and a historical dip in its stock price. Lip-Bu Tan's approach was different. Although the executive reaffirmed Intel's roadmap, pointing to Panther Lake on 18A later this year and Nova Lake coming shortly after, the majority of the 40-minute presentation focused on how Intel has fallen into shambles over the past few years.

Tan is most well-known as the former CEO of Cadence Design Systems, where he served as CEO for 12 years. Prior to becoming the CEO of Intel, Tan served on the company's board of directors from 2022 to 2024, leaving just a month before Gelsinger retired from his position. "It was very hard for me to watch it struggle," Tan said, seemingly fighting back tears. "I simply could not stand on the sideline knowing I could help turn things around." That exact moment starts around the 15-minute mark in the keynote below.

Although Tan didn't run from previous failures, which is something Intel has done for the last several years, the keynote didn't lay out a clear vision for the future. Tan says he's focused on building more collaborative teams and attracting new talent. "I believe Intel has lost some of this talent over the years," Tan said. Shortly after the keynote, Tan revealed that Intel would spin off "non-core" units in an effort to refocus the company on engineering, according to Bloomberg.

Intel has promised new beginnings for the past several years, and Tan is promising a new beginning, too. The tone of that announcement was dire, though. Tan publicly showed how bad the situation is, but he assured customers that it would get better. "We may not be perfect in the beginning, but eventually, you can count on it, I will make it perfect," he said. With releases like the Core Ultra 9 285K behind us, I certainly hope that's true.