SEATTLE, May 20 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) kicked

off a product event on Monday where it is expected to debut

hardware and software related to consumer devices and AI.

At the event on its campus in Redmond, Washington, the

Windows maker is expected to reveal a new version of its Surface

Pro tablet and Surface Laptop that feature Qualcomm ( QCOM )

chips based on Arm Holdings' architecture.

After Intel's ( INTC ) processors dominated the personal

computer market for decades, Qualcomm ( QCOM ) and other makers of

lower-power Arm components have tried to compete in the

Windows-PC market.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips include a so-called

neural processing unit that is designed to accelerate AI-focused

applications, such as Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Copilot software.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) held the product event a day before the start of

its annual developer conference.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) aims to extend its early advantage in the race to

produce AI tools that consumers are willing to pay for. Its

partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI allowed it to jump ahead

of Alphabet, as other Big Tech companies race to

dominate the emerging field.

Last week, OpenAI and Alphabet's Google showcased dueling AI

technologies that can respond via voice in real time and be

interrupted, both hallmarks of realistic voice conversations

that AI voice assistants have found challenging. Google also

announced it was rolling out several generative AI features to

its lucrative search engine.

The PC industry has been under increasing pressure from

Apple ( AAPL ) since the company launched its custom chips based

on designs from Arm and ditched Intel's ( INTC ) processors. The

Apple ( AAPL )-designed processors have given Mac computers superior

battery life and speedier performance than rivals' chips that

use more energy.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) tapped Qualcomm ( QCOM ) to lead the effort to move the

Windows operating system to Arm's chip designs in 2016. Qualcomm ( QCOM )

has exclusivity on Microsoft Windows devices that expires this

year. Other chip designers such as Nvidia ( NVDA ) have efforts

under way to make their own Arm-based PC chips, Reuters has

previously reported.