A hoarding outside AMD’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Image: AMD

AMD plans to buy an artificial intelligence start-up called Nod.ai as part of an effort to bolster its software capabilities.

In its race to catch rival chip-maker Nvidia, AMD plans to invest heavily in the critical software necessary for the company’s advanced AI chips. Through more than a decade of work, Nvidia has built a powerful advantage in the AI chip market through the software it makes, and the software developer ecosystem.

AMD has vowed to invest in and build a unified collection of software to power the various chips the company makes.

“We are executing to that strategy,” AMD president Victor Peng said in an interview. “And [we are] doing it through internal investment as well as external acquisitions.”

The acquisition of Nod.ai fits into the strategy because its technology enables companies to deploy AI models that are tuned for AMD’s chips more easily. Nod.ai sells its technology to large data centre operators, among other customers.

AMD did not disclose the terms of the deal. The Santa Clara, California-based Nod.ai has raised roughly US$36.5-million, according to PitchBook data.

Earlier this year, AMD created the AI group that will house the Nod.ai acquisition, Peng said. The group employs about 1 500 engineers — the vast majority of software related — and AMD plans to continue to expand the team with 300 additional hires this year, and more in 2024.

Read: AMD making big gains on Nvidia in AI chips: research

“We have been growing rapidly, with plans for next year as well,” said Vamsi Boppana, senior vice president of the Artificial Intelligence Group at AMD said.

The Nod.ai acquisition is the company’s second in the past few months, Peng said. When asked if the company planned to bolster its portfolio with additional acquisitions Peng said: “We’re always looking.” — Max A Cherney, (c) 2023 Reuters