SANTA CLARA, Dec 21 (AFP) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) is splitting its graphic chips unit into two, the company said on Wednesday, as it realigns the business to better compete with Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O).

The consumer graphics unit will be combined with Intel's client computing group, which makes chips for personal computers, while accelerated computing teams will join its data center and artificial intelligence (AI) business, the company said.

The move comes as Intel doubles down on accelerated computing, a growing segment dominated by Nvidia as AI use surges.

"I don't think it changes much (if anything) other than aligning the products with the respective sales organizations they fit with vs. having them as a discrete segment," Wedbush Securities analyst Matthew Bryson said.

Raja Koduri, who led the graphic chips unit, will return to his role as chief architect and oversee the company's long-term technology and chip design strategy.

Koduri, who has led graphics technology ventures at iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) and AMD, joined Intel in 2017.