AMD has decided to acquire AI inference chip startup Talas. CNBC reported on Wednesday that AMD plans to integrate Talas chips and technology into its roadmap to strengthen system competitiveness, including CPUs and Instinct GPUs.
AMD has relied on GPUs for much of its data center growth, but it sees GPUs alone as unable to meet all demand as the spread of generative AI enters its fourth year. Talas has been developing inference accelerators that are not general-purpose chips but are hardwired and designed to target specific AI models.
The approach has lower flexibility but can reduce costs. Talas said it can deliver results thousands of times faster than existing GPUs on certain models.
AMD did not disclose the purchase price. Talas has raised $219 million in venture funding since its founding in 2023. Its current chip runs a small version of Meta Llama 3.1, and it is developing chips for larger and more advanced models. The chip is produced using an older TSMC process and includes SRAM memory on the chip itself.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr