The top manager of Intel said that by the end of the year about half of all sold computers will be equipped with artificial‑intelligence accelerators.

Intel sees 2026 as a pivotal year for AI-powered personal computers

*Intel Japan President Makoto Ohno says that by 2026 half of all PCs sold will be equipped with AI chips.*

- IDC estimates about 260 million computers will ship in 2026.

- If Makoto Ohno’s forecast holds, roughly 130 million of those will have a neural processing unit (NPU) or similar local data‑processing chip.

Why people buy AI PCs
Makoto Ohno emphasized that the main motivation for buying such devices is not so much accelerating AI functions but:

1. Higher performance across many application tasks.
2. Longer battery life enabled by new generations of optimized processors.

> “By 2026 every second computer will be equipped with an AI chip, but people buy them not because of AI-related features,” he noted.

Company goal
Intel aims to make AI PCs the norm rather than the exception:

- Currently such computers are seen as premium products.
- The company wants to quickly change that perception and bring them to the mass market.

To do this Intel stresses the need to expand the range of applications that truly leverage AI‑chip capabilities. This should lead buyers to purchase AI PCs not just for fashion, but because a specific application will actually require it.