Asus to sell and develop NUC mini PCs in licensing agreement with Intel | CRN

July 19, 2023, 12:06 am EDT

The move likely means that the wide availability of NUC PCs in the channel will continue once Intel completes its deal with Asus, which is in the process of obtaining a non-exclusive license that will allow the Taiwanese electronics giant to sell 10th to 13th generation NUC products, develop new NUC designs, and support NUC customers.

Taiwanese electronics giant Asus plans to sell, support and develop NUC mini PCs as part of a proposed licensing deal with Intel announced Tuesday evening.

Intel said it has agreed a term sheet with Asus that will grant the Taiwan-based company a non-exclusive license to the chipmaker’s NUC mini PC designs. This will allow Asus to sell 10th to 13th generation NUC products, develop new NUC designs and support NUC customers, the two companies said.

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The move likely means that the wide availability of NUC PCs in the channel will continue once the deal between Intel and Asus is finalized. Asus operates a channel partner program and has US distribution agreements with ASI, D&H Distributing, Ingram Micro, TD Synnex and Ma Labs.

The companies did not say when they plan to sign a definitive deal to facilitate the transfer of a NUC license to Asus. They also did not disclose any financial details of the proposed licensing deal.

An Intel spokesperson confirmed it had received a list of questions from CRN and said it will provide answers soon. Asus has not responded as of press time.

The announcement of a proposed licensing deal between Intel and Asus came a week after Intel said it was exiting its 10-year-old NUC business, which consisted of pre-built mini PCs as well as kits, boards and modules that allowed partners to build custom NUCs and laptops.

“Our NUC systems product team has delivered unique products that have spurred innovation in the ultra-small form factor market,” said Sam Gao, vice president and general manager of Intel client platform solutions, in a statement on Tuesday. “As we overnight our strategy to enable ecosystem partners to continue the innovation and growth of NUC systems products, our priority is to ensure a smooth transition for our customers and partners.”

Asus COO Joe Hsieh said his company is “committed to providing the excellent support and service that NUC system customers have come to expect.”

“Thank you, Intel, for your trust in us to move the NUC systems product line forward. I am confident this collaboration will enhance and accelerate our vision for the mini PC, greatly expanding our presence in areas such as AI and AIoT,” he said in a statement.

The license agreement provides clarity to the news about Intel’s exit from the NUC business

When Intel announced its exit from the NUC business last week, the news had created some uncertainty among the chipmaker’s channel partners about the future of the NUC product line.

While Intel said last week it was pivoting to its strategy “to enable our ecosystem partners to continue NUC innovation and growth,” the semiconductor giant declined to say whether it planned to sell or transfer NUC assets to another company and promised an update by August.

“That other partner arriving [and buys the NUC business] maybe it will fill that void and no one will blink, but we’re going to go through a period of uncertainty where we just don’t know,” John Deatherage, CMO at Intel partner Simply NUC, said in an interview with CRN last week.

At the same time, Intel said it would discontinue all NUC products in September, which has led some partners to consider alternatives. An Intel NUC buyer, edge computing and virtualization provider, Scale Computing, has pledged to use Simply NUC’s in-house Topaz mini PC design alongside Lenovo’s M90Q mini PC for its HE100 platform a day after news broke of Intel’s exit from Intel’s NUC business.

A solutions vendor executive, dismayed last week by the lack of details about Intel’s sudden decision to exit the NUC business, said he was pleased Asus would keep the NUC product line alive.

“We have used Asus motherboards in our systems for more than two decades and are happy to hear that Asus will continue the Intel NUC line of systems,” said Erik Semmel, vice president of sales at Hartford, Connecticut-based TAB Computer Systems, in an email.