Computer processing company, Intel, has acquired Vertex.AI, a startup whose mission is to develop “deep learning for every platform” through its deep learning engine called PlaidML to do it.
The Seattle-based startup focuses on deep learning compilation tools and associated technology. Though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed but it is confirmed that the seven member team — including founders Choong Ng, Jeremy Bruestle and Brian Retford — will join Intel.
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A note on Vertex’s home page says the team will become part of Intel’s Movidius unit. Intel will continue to develop PlaidML as an open source project.
Intel, once a pace-setter and leader in the computing industry on the strength of its processors, has lost some ground to companies building processors for mobile and other next-generation devices.
To regain its status as a cutting edge R&D company it is focussing on the next wave of computing.
“There’s a large gap between the capabilities neural networks show in research and the practical challenges in actually getting them to run on the platforms where most applications run,” Ng noted in a statement on the company’s launch in 2016. “Making these algorithms work in your app requires fast enough hardware paired with precisely tuned software compatible with your platform and language. Efficient plus compatible plus portable is a huge challenge—we can help.” For Intel, this could mean using Vertex’s IP to help build its own applications, or potentially applications for of its customers.
Vertex.AI’s investors include Curious Capital, which focused on pre-seed and seed-stage funding for startups in the Pacific Northwest; and the Creative Destruction Lab, an accelerator focused on machine learning startups based in Toronto.
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