Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has announced that it is planning to purchase AI startup Nervana Systems.
Intel’s acquisition on Nervana will add to its portfolio and allow the smaller company to continue its efforts in deep learning. Nervana will continue to operate out of its headquarters in San Diego. It will also keep its current employees and brand after the acquisition is completed.
Nervana said that it will still be working on its same projects after the acquisition by Intel. This includes its Nervana Neon deep learning framework, Nervana deep learning platform, and the Nervana Engine deep learning hardware.
“Their IP and expertise in accelerating deep learning algorithms will expand Intel’s capabilities in the field of AI,” Diane Bryant, the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Data Center Group, said in a statement. “We will apply Nervana’s software expertise to further optimize the Intel Math Kernel Library and its integration into industry standard frameworks.
Neither Intel or Nervana announced specific details of the deal. However, reports from insider sources told Recode that the chip maker payed over $400 million for the startup. One source claimed that the exact amount INTC is spending to acquire Nervana is $408 million.
Nervana is a small startup that only has 48 employees. It has raised over $25 million in funding from investors and was founded in 2014. The company is led by Naveen Rao, a former researcher for Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM). He said the deal will give the startup access to “technology we’d never dream about.”
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