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AMD strengthens AI position with $665 million acquisition of Silo AI

Posted on by darion

AMD has taken a major step to strengthen its position in the AI ​​space by acquiring Silo AI, the largest private AI lab in Europe. The $665 million deal is a key part of AMD’s AI efforts.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Silo AI is a leading AI R&D company that creates custom AI models, platforms, and solutions for multiple industries, with a focus on cloud, embedded, and endpoint computing.

Details of offer

The all-cash transaction represents a significant investment for AMD. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Following the closure, Silo AI will be part of AMD’s Artificial Intelligence Group. Peter Sarlin, CEO and co-founder of Silo AI, will continue to lead the Silo AI team and will report directly to Vamsi Boppan, senior vice president of AMD’s Artificial Intelligence Group. This structure will preserve the Silo AI culture while leveraging AMD’s global scale and resources.

Silo AI Expertise and Products

Silo AI brings to AMD a team of over 300 AI experts from 6 countries with experience building custom AI models and platforms for enterprise customers.

One of Silo AI’s most notable achievements is the development of multilingual models of large open-source languages, Poro and Viking, built on AMD platforms. These models demonstrate Silo AI’s ability to create AI systems that can process and generate human-like text in multiple languages.

Silo AI has an impressive client list, including global leaders such as Allianz, Philips, Rolls-Royce and Unilever. They have also partnered with other leading AI companies such as Aleph Alpha from Germany and Mistral from France to further strengthen their position in the European AI landscape.

What does this acquisition mean for AMD?

By bringing Silo AI’s expertise to AMD, AMD will be able to accelerate the development and deployment of AI solutions for its global customer base, helping to close the gap with competitors in the AI ​​chipset market.

Silo AI’s multilingual language models and custom AI solutions complement AMD’s product portfolio and enable it to support more AI use cases. This is especially important as AMD looks to compete with Nvidia in the AI ​​computing space.

In addition, the agreement strengthens AMD’s presence in Europe, a key hub for AI development. By maintaining Silo AI’s headquarters in Finland and leveraging existing partnerships, AMD can leverage Europe’s AI talent pool and expand its presence in the region.

AMD’s Recent AI Investments

The Silo AI transaction is part of AMD’s broader initiative to expand the company’s AI capabilities through strategic investments and acquisitions.

In the last 12 months:

Acquisitions: Before Silo AI, AMD acquired two other AI companies in 2023—Mipsology and Nod.ai. These acquisitions expanded AMD’s portfolio to include AI software and hardware optimization capabilities.

Startup investments: AMD has invested more than $125 million in more than a dozen AI startups in the past 12 months, allowing the company to stay ahead of trends and potentially integrate new technologies into its products.

Impact on the industry and the future

The Silo AI deal will have implications for the entire AI and chip industry. As AMD builds out its AI capabilities, it will potentially disrupt the current market dominated by Nvidia. This will lead to faster innovation and potentially more competitive pricing for AI chips and solutions.

AMD’s AI strategy will be as follows:

  • Developing more efficient and powerful chips specifically for AI applications that will be able to compete with Nvidia.
  • Expanding the software ecosystem to make it easier for developers and enterprises to leverage AMD hardware for AI.
  • Leveraging Silo AI expertise to build more complex, custom AI solutions for a variety of industries.
  • Continue to invest in and potentially acquire AI startups to stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Given the rapid growth of the AI ​​market, AMD is ideally positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for AI solutions.