The central processing unit (CPU) – the chip technology that drove Intel’s sales and profits for decades but was overshadowed by the graphics processing unit (GPU) in the AI age – is making a comeback.That’s according to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, speaking on the company’s latest earnings call. “The CPU is [reasserting] itself as the indispensable foundation of the AI era,” he said. “This isn’t just our wishful thinking, it’s what we hear from our customers.”Intel shares rose about 20 per cent in after-hours trading on Thursday night local time, after it beat first-quarter earnings estimates, extending its rally since…