AMD buys chip startup that hardwires AI models into its silicon

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has acquired Taalas, a Toronto-based startup specializing in chips designed for AI model inference. This strategic move comes as the demand for AI chips continues to surge, outpacing the supply of advanced AI chips available in the market. Taalas' technology, which involves custom, or hard-wired chips for a single AI model, promises to deliver output thousands of times faster than traditional GPUs for specific models.

The acquisition, though AMD has declined to disclose the exact purchase price, follows closely on the heels of Nvidia's $20 billion acquisition of Groq, the highest-value transaction in Nvidia's history. Taalas, which has raised a total of $219 million in venture funding since its founding in 2023, currently runs a small version of Meta's Llama 3.1 model.

The company is developing chips capable of supporting even larger and more advanced models. Its current chips utilize an older TSMC process, with speedy SRAM memory integrated directly onto the chip. Taalas' CEO, Ljubisa Bajic, asserts that the startup is capable of transforming any AI model into custom silicon, a process that can be realized in hardware within just two months of receiving a previously unseen model.

AMD CEO Lisa Su emphasizes that while GPUs remain a cornerstone of AMD's AI strategy, acknowledging their flexibility to accommodate newly developed AI models, the acquisition underlines the company's commitment to offering integrated systems with various components and chips, aiming to provide a more comprehensive solution to the evolving AI landscape.