US-based Intel Corp on Tuesday announced a deal to buy an “artificial intelligence” (AI) start-up as the company looks to broaden its role in data centers and the expanding Internet of Things.
Intel did not disclose how much it is paying for Nervana Systems, but US media reports put the price at more than US$350 million.
“With this acquisition, Intel is formally committing to pushing the forefront of AI technologies,” Nervana cofounder and chief executive Naveen Rao said in a blog post. “We can now shatter the old paradigm and move into a new regime of computing.”
Founded two years ago in Southern California, Nervana has specialized in combining hardware and software to help machines process data in ways similar to human brains, the companies said.
Intel plans to put Nervana expertise to work in Xeon and Xeon Phi chips to better handle “deep learning” in the Internet cloud, Intel data center group executive vice president Diane Bryant said in an online post.
“While artificial intelligence is often equated with great science fiction, it isn’t relegated to novels and movies,” Bryant said.
“AI is all around us,” he added.
Separately, Apple Inc on Monday confirmed that it has bought US machine learning start-up Turi as Silicon Valley giants focus on a future rich with AI.
Turi specializes in enabling developers to imbue software applications with programs so the apps respond to data more like the way people do.
Apple declined to elaborate on the deal for Seattle-based Turi.
Technology news Web site GeekWire cited people close to the acquisition as pegging the purchase price at US$200 million.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
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