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Key Objectives
- Innovation in AI Edge Applications: Participants are invited to present cutting-edge AI applications that leverage edge computing to address critical business challenges, such as Retail Loss Prevention, Security and Threat Detection, Healthcare Image Analysis, Worker Safety, and Operational Efficiency. These applications should showcase novel methods of integrating AI technologies with Intel products within existing business use cases. Intel welcomes submissions that span a wide range of industries including Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, Education, Smart Cities & Security, and others.
- Scalability and Localization: Participants are encouraged to create applications that can efficiently scale across different geographic regions and multiple devices. These applications should demonstrate real-time processing and decision-making capabilities on edge devices, operating close to the source of information.
- Ethical AI: With the growing emphasis on ethical considerations in AI development, participants are urged to address issues such as bias mitigation, data privacy, and transparency in their applications. By incorporating ethical AI frameworks, we can ensure that the advantages of AI are realized without compromising societal values or individual rights.
Who Should Participate
We welcome any Independent Software Vendor or application builder company that meets the minimum requirements to register and participate. Additionally, we encourage all members of the Intel® Partner Alliance (IPA) and Industry Solution Builders (ISB) communities to join.
Timeline
Submissions of project applications and solutions will begin September 15, 2025.
Sep 15 Registration Opens
Sep 15 - Dec 15 Project Development and Submissions
Dec 15 Last day to Submit Project Applications
Requirements
The AI Edge Application Challenge is an incentive program designed with a three-tier structure, rewarding participants as they achieve progressively higher levels of accomplishment. This framework encourages ongoing improvement and active engagement, motivating participants to strive for greater success to unlock additional benefits.
Participant Registration
To join this challenge, participants must:
- Sign up as an Industry Solution Builders (ISB) partner, Click here to learn more or here to join (Necessary to collaborate on our challenge platform).
- Register as an Intel® Partner Alliance (IPA) member, Click here to learn more or join (Necessary to access incentives and benefits).
- Provide detailed information about their application in English, including application description, use case/business impact, and other relevant details.
- Comply with the challenge's Terms and Conditions. Click here to learn more.
Application Requirements
In addition to the criteria listed in the tables below, each application must meet the following conditions:
- Relevant to an AI use case (application performs AI tasks or functions on an edge device applicable to one or more AI use cases).
- AI workload (e.g. Agentic AI, Generative AI, computer vision, etc.) that runs on Intel architecture.
- Commercially deployable application.
Foundational
Intel HW components
Minimum Criteria : Verify your application runs on at least (1) Intel Architecture hardware component listed below:
- Intel Atom® x7 processor or newer
- 13th Gen Intel® Core™ processors or newer
- Intel® Core™ Ultra processors series 1 or series 2
- 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors or Intel® Xeon® 6 processors
- Intel® Xeon® D-1800 or D-2800 processor product family
- Intel® Xeon® E-2400 processor product family
- Intel® Xeon® W-2400 or W-3000 processor product family
- Intel® Arc™ B-series graphics
- Intel® Gaudi® AI accelerator
Intel SW ingredients (optional)
Minimum Criteria : Use (1) or more Intel SW ingredients in your application.
Refer to the Open Software Platform document to see the full list of qualified SW ingredients.
Advanced
Intel® AI Edge Systems
Minimum Criteria : Onboard your application to run on a qualified AI Edge system. Refer to the AI Edge Application Ready Verification document to complete this process.
Within step 1 of the verification document we provide three methods to acquire an Intel® AI Edge System:
Intel SW ingredients (optional)
Minimum Criteria : Use (2) or more Intel SW ingredients in your application.
Refer to the Open Software Platform document to see the full list of qualified SW ingredients.
To qualify for the Accelerated level you first need to fulfill all the Foundational or Advanced level requirements.
Accelerated
Commercial Partnership Engagement
Minimum Criteria :To meet this level, we ask you to also provide the information listed below.
- The commercial readiness and geographic availability of your application.
- Information about existing relationships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs).
- Information about downstream partners and sales channels, including Distribution Partners and or Value-Added Resellers.
- Success stories that highlight your innovation and demonstrate measurable improvements in business value for your customers.
Incentives
The AI Edge Application Challenge is a dynamic campaign designed to reward partners whose applications meet or exceed the specific criteria outlined in the requirements section. Distinguished applications are eligible to receive incentives and opportunities in the following categories, showcasing their success in leveraging Intel technologies.
Click here to see the incentives associated with each level.
Co-Branding & Co-Marketing
Together, our brands create a powerful synergy, merging Intel's extensive technological expertise and credibility with our partners' innovation and business acumen. Expand your reach and boost visibility through Intel's collaborative marketing resources, capabilities, and participation in industry and Intel-hosted events.
- Access and use of approved Intel AI badging
- Promotion material & documentation (e.g., partner brief, case study, solution brief, or white paper)
- Application demo video and media amplification
- Ecosystem webinar with lead generation & media amplification
- Co-marketing reimbursement or product vouchers (IPA Points)
- Company promotion on ISB vertical community site
- Invitation to present at Intel’s “Innovator at the Edge Tech Talk”
- Invitation to ISB Connect event
Co-Development
Accelerate the creation of applications through focused training curriculums, development tools, and technical support services.
- Access and assistance through technical and engineering support
- Access to business and technical advisors
- Access to webinars and training
- Access to software toolkits, sample codes and reference software
Co-Selling
Expand and scale our partner portfolio offerings globally through Intel’s vast ecosystem of partners as well as Intel’s own sales team and extended channel sales team worldwide.
- Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) Matchmaking Opportunities
- Aggregator channel, and geographic expansion
Participants may be eligible for one or more of the incentives outlined above. Due to the limited availability of these opportunities, it is in Intel's discretion to assess each application's eligibility and award of incentives.
This challenge is one of many exciting initiatives Intel is launching in the AI space. We welcome your participation across multiple programs and encourage you to aim for the higher requirement tiers and guidance. While similar initiatives, both past and present, may offer comparable benefits, please note that we cannot offer duplicate incentives. Intel reserves the right to ensure that benefits are unique and not duplicated if partners are receiving similar rewards from other Intel programs and initiatives.
We eagerly anticipate your innovative contributions and look forward to celebrating your achievements!
Use Cases
The development of edge AI applications delivers significant value by leveraging artificial intelligence directly on edge devices as well as facilitating real-time data processing and decision-making at the source. This approach not only minimizes latency and enhances privacy but also optimizes bandwidth usage, making it ideal for diverse industries. Edge AI applications are transforming sectors such as, but not limited to:
Manufacturing
Driving operational efficiency through predictive maintenance, process optimization, and anomaly detection.
- Anomaly Detection
- HMI: Augmented Worker
- Operations Diagnostics
- Predictive Maintenance
- Process Optimization
- Quality Inspection & Assurance
- Vision Guided Robots
- Worker Safety
Retail
Elevating customer experiences with self-checkout systems, order accuracy, and loss prevention strategies.
- Loss Prevention
- Order Accuracy
- Self-Checkout
Healthcare
Enhancing patient care and improving outcomes through advanced image analysis, virtual care, and genomics research.
- Genomics Informed
- Image Analysis
- Virtual Care
Education
Personalizing learning experiences and streamlining administrative processes with digital campuses and intelligent, immersive learning environments.
- Digital Campus
- Immersive Learning
- Intelligent Learning
Safety and Security
Boosting efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life by optimizing traffic and intersection management and enhancing public safety.
- Advanced Video Search
- Intersection Management
- Live Avatar Interaction
- Live Video Stream Analysis
- Natural Language Search
- Smart Parking
- Smart Tolling
- Video Summarization
These are just a few examples that illustrate the transformative potential of edge AI. Submit your innovative application that tackles complex challenges and unlocks new business opportunities.
Guidance
Applications will be assessed on the following principles:
- Use Case Applicability and Relevancy: Your application will be assessed based on its effectiveness in leveraging artificial intelligence on edge devices to address and solve industry-specific challenges.
- Hardware Utilization: Your application will be evaluated on how well it utilizes Intel's AI hardware, such as Intel® Xeon® processor, Intel® Core™ Ultra processor, Intel® Core™ processor, Intel Atom® processor, Intel® Arc™ graphics and AI accelerators. Additional consideration could be given based on efficiency gains or performance improvements achieved through optimized use of Intel hardware.
- Software Frameworks Integration: Your application will be evaluated on how well it integrates with Intel-optimized AI software frameworks like OpenVINO™ toolkit, oneAPI tools, and Open Edge Platform. Solutions that demonstrate seamless integration with these frameworks could receive additional consideration for ease of deployment and scalability.
- Innovation in AI Algorithms: Applications will be evaluated on how well the AI algorithms leverage Intel-specific optimizations or capabilities such as advanced analytics or deep learning models. Additional consideration could be given to novel approaches that utilize Intel technologies to achieve superior accuracy or speed in AI tasks and workloads. Higher consideration will be given to applications that deploy Generative AI vs. Traditional AI.
- Ethical AI and Security: Applications will be considered based on how they apply ethical AI and data security, particularly focusing on how Intel technologies are used to enhance privacy, mitigate bias, or ensure compliance. Applications that demonstrate robust data security measures or incorporate Intel’s hardware-based security features could receive better consideration. (Note: Intel reserves the right to decline applications capable of “Unique Individual Identification” (UII) recognition in end-user use case applications where misuse and/or bias can lead to human rights violations. Refer to the Terms and Conditions for more information.)
- Ease of Deployment and Commercialization: Applications will be evaluated by the ease of deployment, commercialization, management, and maintenance of the AI application on Intel platforms. Applications that offer streamlined deployment workflows or support for edge computing scenarios using Intel technologies across one or more global geographies could receive additional consideration.
- Business Impact and ROI: Applications will be evaluated for the potential business impact of the application, including cost-effectiveness, ROI, and strategic alignment with industry/use case goals enabled by Intel technologies.
Tech Support
Engage with Intel Experts During the Challenge
Technical and Engineering Assistance
For the duration of this challenge, registered participants can access a global team of technical and engineering experts for guidance and advice in using Intel technologies and software in the solutions participants are working on for this challenge.
This team has a wealth of knowledge in various use-case implementations such as Industrial, Retail, Healthcare, Smart City, Infrastructure, and many more.
You can access the resources of this team to enable Intel technologies or software in the participant’s solution, including Edge AI model workload optimization, which includes Large Language Model (LLM) implementation and edge technology enabling such as manageability, security, etc.
Available Assistance
- Complement participant’s software skillset gap.
- Assist in enabling participants’ solution with Intel technologies.
- Assist in optimizing the performance of the participant’s solution using Intel software (e.g., OpenVINO™ toolkit, oneAPI tools).
Edge AI Model Optimization Assistance
- AI model recommendations, advice and guidance regarding workload customization and optimization, retraining, and enabling LLM at the edge.
Edge Technology Enabling Assistance
Intel can provide advice and guidance related to the following Intel technologies:
- Virtualization (e.g., KVM, ACRN, Intel® Graphics SR-IOV Enablement Toolkit)
- Manageability (i.e., Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT))
- Boot Time Optimization (i.e., optimization for Intel platforms)
- Security Verification (e.g., data protection and encryption)
Help
Send us an email if you have questions about this challenge.
Email the Organizers Terms and Conditions