IBM, Intel, Google, Microsoft prep next-gen hardware for AI

Machine learning, artificial intelligence--whatever the label, it's fast becoming a way to reinvent enterprise IT mainstays and for the companies on top to stay on top. Consider four of the most familiar names in technology: Intel, Google, IBM, and Microsoft are investing heavily in ML/AI with hardware designs intended to greatly accelerate the next generation of applications. What it's doing: The world's best-known chipmaker recently introduced a new line of CPUs specifically aimed at ML applications: Knights Mill. It also mentioned plans to meld its CPUs with reprogrammable FPGA processors, a powerful but relatively underexploited technology for Intel. Why it's doing so: As the PC market continues to melt away like an Arctic glacier, Intel has been hunting for methods to make up the difference.