Intel acquires Cnvrg.io, a machine learning ops and automation platform.

Intel has acquired Cnvrg.io, an Israeli company that has built and operates a platform for data scientists to build and run machine learning models, which can be used to train and track multiple models and run comparisons on them. Intel confirmed the acquisition, stating that "Cnvrg will be an independent Intel company and will continue to serve its existing and future customers," which include Lightricks, ST Unitas and Playtika. Intel is not disclosing any financial terms of the deal, nor who from the startup will join Intel.

Cnvrg, co-founded by Yochay Ettun (CEO) and Leah Forkosh Kolben, had raised $8 million from investors that include Hanaco Venture Capital and Jerusalem Venture Partners, and was valued at around $17 million in its last round. This acquisition comes just one week after Intel acquired SigOpt, another platform designed to run machine learning modeling and simulations. Cnvrg's location in Israel adds to Intel's extensive footprint in the country for artificial intelligence research and development, anchored by its acquisition of Mobileye for more than $15 billion in 2017 and its acquisition of AI chipmaker Habana for $2 billion at the end of 2019.

Cnvrg.io's platform works across on-premise, cloud and hybrid environments and is offered in paid and free tiers, with the free service branded as Core. The platform competes with Databricks, Sagemaker, Dataiku, and smaller operations like H2O.ai built on open-source frameworks. Its premise is providing a user-friendly platform for data scientists to concentrate on devising algorithms and measuring how they work, rather than building or maintaining the platform itself. The platform uses Nvidia-optimized containers that run on a Kubernetes cluster, with other partners including Red Hat and NetApp.

Intel's acquisition strategy reflects its focus on next-generation chips to compete against Nvidia and GraphCore, while also providing AI tools and services to help customers with compute loads on those chips. In the last quarter, Intel reported a 3% decline in its revenues, led by a drop in its data center business. The company projects the AI silicon market to be bigger than $25 billion by 2024, with AI silicon in the data center to be greater than $10 billion in that period. In 2019, Intel reported $3.8 billion in AI-driven revenue, and investments in tools like SigOpt and Cnvrg.io are expected to help drive more activity in that business by supporting AI applications across a wider range of enterprises.