Intel scoops up VC-backed AI company Nervana Systems

Intel Corp announced on Oct. 9 that it would acquire San Diego-based Nervana Systems, a developer of artificial intelligence systems. Nervana will help develop Intel’s AI portfolio and enhance the deep learning performance of Intel Xeon and Intel Xeon Phi processors, the company said in a blog post.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but various reports have pegged the acquisition at between $350 million and $400 million.

Nervana was founded in 2014 has raised slightly more than $25 million from investors, according to Thomson Reuters data. Backers include Allen & Co, AME Cloud Ventures, Data Collective, DFJ, Fuel Capital, Lux Capital and SV Angel, among others.

For more about the company and the deal, DFJ Partner Steve Jurvetson posted a blog on Medium.

Photo of shadows near the Intel logo at the 2015 Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, June 3, 2015, courtesy of Reuters/Pichi Chuang