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Intel Taps Qualcomm’s Alex Katouzian to Lead PC and Physical AI as Ranade Becomes CTO

The move signals a push to link Intel’s PC franchise with AI in devices such as robots and autonomous machines.

An Intel logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Overview

  • Intel, which announced the hires Monday, said Alex Katouzian will run its Client Computing and Physical AI Group and Pushkar Ranade will serve as chief technology officer.
  • Katouzian starts in May after more than two decades at Qualcomm, where he most recently led mobile, compute, and extended reality work as an executive vice president.
  • His brief combines Intel’s core PC unit with “physical AI,” a term the company uses for on-device AI systems in the real world, including robotics and autonomous machines.
  • Ranade shifts from interim to permanent CTO while remaining chief of staff to CEO Lip-Bu Tan, with a mandate to drive work in quantum and neuromorphic computing, photonics, and new materials.
  • Reuters noted Qualcomm is developing an Arm-based PC chip to take share from Intel and AMD, and Intel’s hire of a longtime Qualcomm leader signals a sharper contest over next-generation PCs and edge AI devices.