Intel has hired longtime Qualcomm executive Alex Katouzian to run the company’s PC and “physical AI” business, a move that signals the chipmaker’s effort to retool its client-computing strategy as competitors press into the PC market. Intel said on Monday Katouzian, who spent more than 20 years at Qualcomm working extensively in its mobile chip unit, will begin the role in May.
The appointment places Katouzian in charge of Intel’s crucial PC franchise — a business that has been a mainstay of the company’s revenue and profit for decades — as well as its physical AI division, which encompasses systems that power robotics, autonomous machines and other edge AI devices. Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan hailed Katouzian’s experience, saying he “brings deep technical expertise, strong operational discipline, and decades of experience building and scaling global compute platforms” and is the right leader to “reimagine client computing beyond the traditional PC.”
Katouzian’s move comes as the PC chip market faces fresh competition from Arm-based designs. Qualcomm, where Katouzian spent his career, is among firms attempting to challenge Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in laptops and similar devices with Arm-based chips. Intel’s hire of a seasoned mobile-chip executive can be read as an effort to accelerate development of lower-power, mobile-style client processors and to better position the company for growth in edge and robotics applications that require tightly integrated hardware and software.
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In a separate personnel change, Intel named Pushkar Ranade to the role of chief technology officer on a permanent basis. Ranade had been serving as interim CTO and will continue in his current dual duty as chief of staff to CEO Tan, the company said. The moves reflect a broader management reshuffle as Intel seeks to sharpen its product focus and execution at a pivotal time for computing architectures and AI at the edge.
Industry analysts say pairing a mobile-chip veteran with responsibility for both client computing and physical-AI hardware could help Intel bridge gaps between energy-efficient designs and high-performance computing for devices outside traditional PCs. Physical AI — the term used by Intel to describe compute systems embedded in machines and robots — is increasingly seen as a growth opportunity, even as the core PC market evolves in response to new silicon entrants and shifting demand patterns.
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Intel did not provide additional details on Katouzian’s initial priorities or any immediate product road map changes. The company’s announcement underscores the strategic importance it places on redefining client devices and expanding into AI-driven systems that operate beyond datacenter environments, areas where competition and innovation have intensified in recent years.
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