AMD Plans To Acquire Nod.ai Artificial Intelligence Startup To Strengthen Software

On Tuesday, October 10, AMD announced its plans to buy an artificial intelligence startup named Nod.ai as part of their efforts to strengthen its software capabilities.

In a race to pursue its competitors, Nvidia chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans to invest large amounts of funds in software that is critical to the company's state-of-the-art artificial intelligence chips. Through more than a decade of hard work, Nvidia has built a strong advantage in the artificial intelligence chip market through the software they created and its software development ecosystem.

AMD pledged to invest and build a united collection of software to power the company's various chips.

"We are implementing that strategy," AMD president Victor Peng said in an interview with Reuters. "And doing so through internal investment and external acquisition."

The acquisition of Nod.ai is in accordance with this strategy because the technology allows companies to implement artificial intelligence models tailored to AMD chips more easily. Nod.ai sells its technology to large data center operators, among others.

AMD did not disclose details about this deal. Based on PitchBook data, Santa Clara, California-based Nod.ai, has raised around US$36.5 million (Rp573.6 billion).

AMD recently formed an artificial intelligence group that will home to the acquisition of Nod.ai, Peng said. The group has covered about 1,500 engineers, most of whom are software-related, and AMD plans to continue expanding the team with an additional 300 recruits this year, and more in 2024.

"This is rapid growth, with plans for next year as well," said Vamsi Boppana, senior vice president, AMD's Artificial Intelligence Group.

Nod.ai's acquisition is the second for the company in recent months, Peng said. When asked if the company plans to strengthen its portfolio with additional acquisitions, Peng said, "We're always looking."