Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) CEO Lip-Bu Tan says the company that once dominated the data center market is trying to reinvent itself with faster decision-making, flatter management and a culture built around execution instead of bureaucracy.



Speaking at the J.P. Morgan TMC Conference and at CNBC’s Mad Money episode with Jim Cramer, Tan described what increasingly sounds like an attempt to build a “New Intel.” An Intel designed to move at &#34;speed-of-light&#34; pace after years of delays, missed manufacturing targets and growing pressure from rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) and Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA).



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<h2>Inside Lip-Bu Tan's Push To Reinvent Intel</h2>



Intel has compressed its management hierarchy from as many as 12 layers down to five, with engineering leaders now reporting directly to Tan. The company has also adopted a &#34;bad news first&#34; philosophy that requires problems to be surfaced within 24 hours, while eliminating unnecessary meetings and tightening accountability standards internally.



Tan contrasted the changes with Intel's previous environment, where some decisions could take up to a year.



The turnaround push appears to extend beyond management culture and into customer relationships as well.



According to Intel, the company worked directly through &#34;14 areas&#34; where one major customer believed Intel had previously fallen short, part of a broader effort to rebuild trust in its foundry and engineering operations.



<h2>Intel Says Foundry Recovery Is Starting To Gain Credibility</h2>



The cultural overhaul comes as Intel tries to convince customers and investors that its foundry business is finally stabilizing.



The company said its 18A process node is now in volume production, supporting the Panther Lake ramp, while yields are improving roughly 7% per month and tracking ahead of Intel's year-end internal targets.



Intel also said it has secured roughly 200 design wins tied to the node.



Tan reiterated that foundry is fundamentally a service business where trust is earned through execution, cycle time, yield quality and reliable delivery — not simply ambitious roadmap promises.



Intel's roadmap now extends beyond 18A toward 14A, 10A and 7A development, with 14A risk production targeted for 2028 and volume manufacturing expected in 2029, broadly aligned with TSMC's A14 timing.



The company has also embraced external EDA partners like Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys while cutting roughly two-thirds of its prior internal EDA budget.



<h2>Intel Thinks AI's Next Phase Could Favor CPUs Again</h2>



While Wall Street remains heavily focused on GPUs, Intel argued that the next wave of AI workloads may increasingly benefit CPUs.



Management said inferencing surpassed training workloads in the second half of 2025, while emerging &#34;agentic AI&#34; systems are becoming far more CPU-intensive than traditional AI training environments.



According to Intel, the historical CPU-to-GPU ratio of roughly 1:8 in training clusters is now approaching parity in inference-heavy deployments, with some customers reporting ratios as high as 4:1.



During the CNBC Mad Money interview, Tan reinforced Intel's turnaround ambitions, saying the company previously &#34;used to have leadership in data center&#34; before losing it — and that he is now trying to bring that leadership back.



Intel also signaled that it sees &#34;physical AI&#34; — including robotics and digital workers — as the next major strategic frontier beyond agentic AI, with the company building capabilities spanning silicon, software and systems engineering.



For now, though, Intel's biggest challenge may be proving that a company long criticized for moving too slowly can suddenly start operating at &#34;speed of light.&#34;



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Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is leading a transformation to create a 'New Intel' focused on rapid decision-making and execution. The company is reducing management layers and adopting a 'bad news first' approach to improve accountability. As Intel stabilizes its foundry business, it aims to regain leadership in the data center market, emphasizing the potential of CPUs in future AI workloads. The company is also aligning its roadmap with competitors while enhancing customer relationships to rebuild trust.

- Intel Corp's CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced efforts to transform the company, aiming for faster decision-making and a streamlined management structure.  
- The company is decreasing management layers and adopting a "bad news first" philosophy to improve accountability and rebuild customer trust.  
- Intel is progressing in its foundry operations with improved yields and plans for future chip development, while asserting that the next wave of AI may favor CPUs over GPUs.

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Intel CEO Is Building A 'New Intel' That Works At 'Speed Of Light'