Semiconductor giant Intel says it will create two new business units focussing separately on software and high-performance computing and graphics.

Current Intel executives Sandra Rivera and Raja Koduri will take on new senior leadership roles, while technology industry veterans Nick McKeown and Greg Lavender will join the company.

Lavender most recently served as CTO of VMware and will be the general manager of the new software and advanced technology group, while Koduri will join an accelerated computing systems and graphics group.

A veteran of Apple and AMD, Koduri will lead the new group tasked with competing against rival Nvidia whose graphics chips have gained ground in data centres.