Israel-based tech company is a developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning accelerators
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Giant tech Intel Corp announced Monday the purchase of Israeli-based Habana Labs startup company in a deal worth of approximately two billion dollars, as was reported by i24 News.
Habana Labs is a developer of programmable artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning accelerators for cloud data centers. It will remain an independent business unit and will also maintain its current management team, reporting to Intel’s data platforms group, according to Reuters news agency.
i24 News reported that this acquiring deal comes three years after Intel had purchased another Israeli startup, Mobileye, for $15 billion.
According to Hebrew-language daily Calcalist, chairman and entrepreneur Avigdor Vilantz had already two successful exits prior to this one. He will continue to serve as senior adviser to the business unit as well as to Intel, Venture Beat reported.
The employees of the company and the investors will have one of the largest returns for investment after raising $75 million in venture capital last November, according to the i24 News report. The deal is considered to be the largest Israeli buy-out in cash and the largest purchase of a private chip company in the world.
In an official statement, Intel said that “This acquisition advances our AI strategy, which is to provide customers with solutions to fit every performance need — from the intelligent edge to the data center.
“More specifically, Habana turbo-charges our AI offerings for the data center with a high-performance training processor family and a standards-based programming environment to address evolving AI.”
Intel Israel commenced operations in 1974 and is a development and manufacturing center of Intel Corporation. As a leading technology company in Israel and in the world, Intel develops and manufactures integrated and connected digital technology and computing platforms.
Although Intel is known primarily for development of semiconductors, they engage in other aspects as well. In recent years, they have evolved from a company that served primarily the personal computing industry to becoming a company that drives the largest data centers in the world, connecting millions of mobile installations and Internet of Things devices, as well as providing information systems protection for organizations and governments.
They employ nearly 13,000 workers in the country, exporting products worth $3.9b. in 2018 and procuring local materials and services worth $1.7b., primarily from peripheral areas, according to the JPost report.
In January, Intel announced plans to invest approximately $10.9b. in the company’s Israel-based operations to construct a vast production facility in Kiryat Gat. The 370,000 sq.m. expansion is expected to add 1,000 new employees to Intel’s existing workforce, as was reported by the JPost. (i24 News)
