In a bold and forward-thinking move, Amazon has announced its plans to acquire AI chipmaker and model specialist Perceive Corp. for a staggering $80 million in cash. This acquisition aims to significantly enhance Amazon’s large language models (LLMs) and edge computing capabilities, marking a substantial investment in the future of artificial intelligence and on-device computing.
Amazon, the tech giant and parent company of Amazon Web Services (AWS), is poised to integrate Perceive Corp.’s cutting-edge technology directly into its operations. “We’re excited to have signed a deal to acquire Perceive and bring over its talented team to join our efforts to bring large language models and multimodal experiences to devices capable of running on the edge,” Amazon stated in a communication with CRN, highlighting the strategic importance of this acquisition.
San Jose-based Perceive Corp., a subsidiary of the publicly traded company Xperi, which has a market capitalization of $402 million, has been renowned for its expertise in edge inference hardware and software technologies. The AI chipmaker excels in enabling low-power devices—such as conferencing systems and wearable technology—through its proprietary AI-powered processor, Ergo. Ergo’s proficiency in object classification, audio signal processing, and language tasks exemplifies the type of innovation that Amazon is keen to leverage.
AWS has already established a strong precedent for developing in-house custom silicon geared towards AI workloads and cloud optimization. This is evident in their existing portfolio that includes Graviton processors, Inferentia chips, and Trainium machine learning processors designed primarily for cloud-based AI model training.
As part of Amazon’s relentless drive towards innovation, its new suite of AI products including Amazon Q Developer and Business products, alongside Amazon Bedrock, underscores an aggressive push in the 2024 market. Matt Garman, the new CEO of AWS, has emphatically stated, “With security as the absolute baseline, the next most critical thing for AWS today is innovating on behalf of our customers in the realm of generative AI. Generative AI is going to disrupt and change almost every industry and customer experience in the world. It’s an area where we have invested heavily and will continue to do so.”
Approximately 50 employees from Xperi focused on Perceive will transition to Amazon as part of the acquisition. Jon Kirchner, CEO of Xperi, expressed optimism about the transaction, noting the dynamic evolution of the edge inference technology landscape and Perceive’s adaptation to these changes. “We are pleased to have found a suitable home for Perceive, its employees and its technology,” Kirchner remarked. “We are excited that Amazon will be able to take the technology to the next level, which we believe has significant potential.”
The acquisition not only fortifies Amazon’s position in edge computing but also aligns with their broader strategy of integrating advanced AI models and multimodal applications into devices operating on the edge. This move is expected to catalyze Amazon’s continued dominance and innovation in the tech industry, with the deal anticipated to close by the end of 2024.