Partner POV | Rethinking AI Infrastructure: How NetApp and Intel Are Unlocking the Future with AIPod Mini

This article was written by Bill Pearson, Vice President, DCAI Software Solutions & Ecosystems, Intel

In an era dominated by the narrative that "AI equals GPUs," a quiet revolution is underway—one that shows not all AI needs to be powered by expensive, scarce, and energy-intensive accelerators. At Intel, we're proud to be at the forefront of this shift through our deep collaboration with NetApp, particularly in the launch of AIPod Mini and Intel AI for Enterprise RAG software, which is optimized for Intel Xeon and leverages open-source ingredients, including the Open Platform for Enterprise AI (OPEA).

Together, these innovations mark a strategic inflection point—not only for enterprises looking to deploy AI faster and cost-effectively, but also for how the industry thinks about accessible, open, CPU-optimized AI infrastructure at the edge and in the data center.

NetApp AIPod Mini with Intel: Bringing Scalable AI to the Edge and the Enterprise

AI is rapidly reshaping how organizations operate, from manufacturing and healthcare to public safety and beyond. But for many enterprises, the cost and complexity of deploying large-scale GPU infrastructure continue to pose substantial challenges.

That's where NetApp AIPod Mini, powered by Intel® Xeon® 6 processors with Intel® Advanced Matrix Extensions (Intel® AMX), comes in.

A Compact AI Powerhouse for the Real World

NetApp AIPod Mini is purpose-built for businesses that want the benefits of AI without the overhead of a massive GPU deployment. Whether detecting defects on a manufacturing line, accelerating hospital diagnostic workflows, or enabling real-time video analytics for public safety, AIPod Mini delivers high-performance inferencing to a wide range of use cases on standard x86 infrastructure.

That means organizations can tap into advanced AI capabilities using the hardware they already know and trust, dramatically lowering barriers to entry.

Why it Matters for Your Business

• Lower Costs, Faster ROI
  By leveraging Intel® AMX within Intel® Xeon® 6 processors, NetApp AIPod Mini delivers the performance needed for demanding inferencing tasks without the expense of GPUs. This reduces upfront investment and speeds time-to-value for AI projects.
• Built for the Hybrid Enterprise
  NetApp's unified storage architecture ensures seamless integration across edge, core, and cloud environments. Data can stay where it's generated and still be part of your AI pipeline, eliminating the need for expensive and risky data movement.
• Enterprise Ready from Day One
  AIPod Mini isn't just for experimentation. Its compact design, standardized infrastructure, and hybrid cloud support make it just as effective for production-scale deployments.

Intel® AI for Enterprise RAG powered by OPEA: A Modern, Open Software Foundation for AI

Intel® AI for Enterprise RAG simplifies transforming your enterprise data into actionable insights. Building on the strong foundation of OPEA unlocks the full potential of CPU-based AI solutions. Developed as an open-source project and optimized for Intel architecture, Intel AI for Enterprise RAG provides a modular, opinionated reference stack for AI development, deployment, and operations.

This stack includes:

• Containerized deployment via Kubernetes and Ubuntu Linux
• Data management integrated with NetApp ONTAP® and Trident
• Built-in observability and monitoring tools for model and infrastructure health by Grafana
• Security and compliance guardrails for regulated environments with native ONTAP security integrations

Developers and data scientists can go from prototype to production with confidence. At the same time, IT operators benefit from a pre-validated, scalable reference architecture that seamlessly integrates with their existing cloud-native tools and data platforms.

NetApp + Intel: A Trusted Partnership Driving Real Results

The collaboration between NetApp and Intel isn't new, but what's new is the level of joint investment and strategic alignment we're seeing in AI. Together, our engineering and go-to-market teams have created a tightly integrated solution stack—from silicon to storage to software—that accelerates time to value for enterprise AI deployments.

• Intel's Xeon processors power inferencing workloads with performance-per-dollar and energy efficiency, running modern AI models efficiently on CPUs, and allow organizations to scale or adopt AI without re-architecting infrastructure or upskilling teams.
• NetApp's AIPod architecture provides data mobility, governance, and resilience across the AI lifecycle, helping customers manage AI data across edge, core, and cloud.
• Our joint work on OPEA gives enterprises a clear on-ramp to open, scalable, and infrastructure-aware AI.

We're seeing adoption in sectors ranging from manufacturing and public sector to life sciences and financial services—industries that want AI that works within their existing operational model.

Breaking the GPU Myth: A New Era for Scalable, Sustainable AI

For years, the equation was simple: AI = GPU. If you wanted to build serious AI capabilities, especially for production workloads, you were expected to invest heavily in large-scale GPU infrastructure.

But that paradigm is shifting—and fast.

Today, the industry is waking up to the reality that not all AI workloads require the use of GPUs. Many of the most valuable and scalable AI applications, especially those running at the edge or in production, are better served by optimized CPU-based solutions.

Why This Matters: A More Open, Sustainable AI Future

The joint opportunity for Intel and NetApp is massive—not just because of the technology we're delivering today, but because of the new foundation we're building for the future of AI:

• The Rise of OPEA
  With continued enhancements to the Open Platform for Enterprise AI (OPEA), we're expanding support for more model types, deployment patterns, and AI use cases optimized for CPU infrastructure.
• Next-Gen Intel® Xeon® processors
  Future generations of Intel Xeon processors will bring even more powerful AI acceleration, enabling greater performance without the GPU tax.
• Ecosystem-Driven Innovation
  By collaborating with the open-source community, ISVs, and technology partners, we're accelerating the pace of innovation while ensuring that the tools and frameworks we develop are open, interoperable, and enterprise-ready.

What Comes Next

NetApp AIPod Mini with Intel is just the beginning. As the market moves beyond the outdated GPU-centric mindset, a more democratized, sustainable, and scalable AI ecosystem is emerging—one that puts power and flexibility back into the hands of organizations, regardless of their size or budget.

AI is no longer reserved for those with deep pockets and massive GPU farms. With NetApp and Intel, it's available to everyone.