AMD acquires Nod.ai in attempt to catch up with Nvidia

AMD just dropped a major announcement about their acquisition of Nod.ai. This up-and-coming AI software startup is rising in the tech sphere, and it's about to join the big leagues.

• Meet Nod.ai: This California-based startup is an open-source AI software that embraces the principle of "learning from mistakes" through its specialty in reinforcement learning, a mechanism where their AI systems get smarter with each attempt.

• AMD's Plan: This acquisition isn't just a random move on the chessboard. AMD is going head-to-head with its rival, Nvidia. Despite a slight dip in revenue this past year, AMD is still exceeding expectations.

• Why Nod.ai?: Nod.ai offers a distinctive capability that allows companies to deploy AI models that are fine-tuned for AMD's chips. They're already a favorite amongst big data center clients, even though they've only raised $36.5M in funding.

• Star Players at Nod.ai: The startup's CEO, Anush Elangovan has previous stints on the Google Chromebooks team and as a lead engineer at Cisco. The CTO, Harsh Menon, brings his experience from Kitty Hawk, the electric aircraft company funded by Google's co-founder Larry Page.

• AMD's Software Army: AMD already boasts a substantial AI group, with 1,500 software engineers on their team. This number is set to increase, with plans to recruit an additional 300 members this year, and more in the pipeline for 2024.

• Sealing the Deal: It's suggested that the AMD-Nod.ai deal will be finalized within this quarter. Speedy proceedings, indeed!

AMD's VP, Victor Peng, has hinted at future acquisitions, reinforcing the adage, "We're always looking."