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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Startup Nervana Systems Acquired by Intel Corp.

Intel Corp. has agreed to acquire San Diego-based Nervana Systems, the semiconductor giant announced Tuesday.

Nervana, a deep-learning startup, was founded in 2014 by Naveen Rao, Amir Khosrowshahi and Arjun Bansal.

Rao, company CEO and a former Qualcomm Inc. researcher, said in a statement that the acquisition signals Intel’s commitment to “pushing the forefront” of artificial technologies.

“We’ll look back in 10 years and see this time as the inflection point of when computer architectures became neural,” Rao said. “The semiconductor integrated circuit is one of humanity’s crowning achievements and Intel has the best semiconductor technology in the world. Nervana’s AI expertise combined with Intel’s capabilities and huge market reach will allow us to realize our vision and create something truly special.”

Rao in the statement thanked the company’s backers, including the first investor in Nervana, angel investor Ali Partovi. Partovi co-founded the nonprofit code.org, which advocates increased diversity in computer science, and iLike, a now-defunct music-sharing platform. (He is also Khosrowshahi’s cousin.)

The 48-person Nervana team will continue to operate out of the company’s San Diego headquarters, Rao said.

Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group at Intel, said Nervana’s IP and expertise in accelerating deep-learning algorithms would expand Intel’s AI capabilities.

“Success in this space requires continued innovation to deliver an optimized, scalable platform providing the highest performance at lowest total cost of ownership,” she said in a statement.

Bryant also said the company plans to continue bolstering its AI portfolio via acquisition.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, has been transitioning away from the business of selling personal computers, once its bread and butter. The company in April announced it would cut 12,000 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce, mostly in the PC business.

Nervana said it was advised by Allen & Company LLC in the transaction.

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