Intel, the giant chipmaker, has acquired Cnvrg.io, an Israel-based full-stack data science platform, to accelerate its machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) operations. The Israeli-oriented company operates a platform for data scientists that build and run machine learning models, which can train and track multiple models, run comparisons on them, make recommendations, and more.
Intel will let Cnvrg.io operate independently and continue to serve its existing and future clients. What has changed for Cnvrg.io is that it would also serve and benefit the semiconductor makers as an Intel company subsidiary to help build its AI, machine learning mechanism, and track its progress.
The chipmaker believes that the acquisition of Cnvrg.io would help in fast-tracking the venture and further help Intel in the soon-to-launch AI systems that the company is working on. Cnvrg.io’s existing clients include Lightricks, ST Unitas, and Playtika. Cnvrg.io formerly serviced Intel-rival, NVidia, an American computer games company specializing in GPUs, and Seagate, the data storage company.
A week ago, Intel acquired SigOpt to gear up its AI business and excel in the machine learning field. SigOpt focuses on scaling AI productivity and performance for an all-around better model of young pipelines and designs. The company also works in deep learning, data analytics, and machine learning to boost the client’s AI technology.
Intel’s latest acquired companies—SigOpt based out of the Bay Area and Cnvrg.io headquartered in Israel—have added to the strong footprint of Intel in the country, especially in the research and development of artificial intelligence. These additions are followed by the acquisitions of autonomous vehicle company Mobileye and AI chipmaker Habana in recent years.
Working across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments, Cnvrg.io’s platform comes in with paid and free versions. It competes with Databricks, SageMaker, and Dataiku as well as smaller operations based on open source platforms such as H2O.ai. Cnvrg aims to offer data scientists a user-friendly environment to focus on devising algorithms and measuring how they perform, not constructing or maintaining the platform on which they operate.
The concentration of Intel on the next computing generation is aimed at offsetting declines in its legacy operations. Intel reported a 3% decline in its revenues in the last quarter, led by a drop in its data center business. It said that by 2024, the AI silicon market is expected to be larger than USD 25 billion, with AI silicon in the data center reaching greater than USD 10 billion in that time.
In 2019, Intel announced AI-driven sales worth approximately USD 3.8 billion, but it hopes that instruments such as SigOpt will help drive more market activity, dovetailing with the push for more AI applications in the broader range of companies.