US chipmaking firm Nvidia has finally closed the $700 million acquisition of Run:ai, an Israeli software company that makes it easier for customers to orchestrate GPU clouds for AI, after facing some regulatory obstacles.
Now, Nvidia is reportedly going to open-source the software. Run:ai posted the latest news on its website and revealed Nvidia’s plans to open source its software.
Regulators from both sides of the Atlantic probed Nvidia on antitrust grounds
While neither of the companies explained the intention, Venture Beat suggests this might not be hard to figure out as Nvidia has ballooned to be the most valuable company in the world at $3.56 trillion. Despite its size, it also becomes difficult for the chip-making giant to acquire companies because of antitrust oversight.
The acquisition faced some hurdles after the EU Commission indicated in October that Nvidia would need to get approvals and antitrust clearance for the transaction due to the raised concerns that the proposed transaction would undermine competition within the sectors in which the two companies operate.
After some rigorous screening, the EU said it approved the proposed acquisition of the Israeli startup saying the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the EEA.
According to Reuters, the EU’s probe into the deal focused on activities that could strengthen Nvidia’s control over GPUs, sought-after chips that could divide and process computer tasks, but eventually concluded that the deal would not raise any such concerns in the EEA.
The Department of Justice also investigated Nvidia over the transaction on antitrust grounds.
Now, after finally sealing the deal, a Nvidia spokesperson only said in a statement: “We’re delighted to welcome the Run:ai team to Nvidia.”
However, Run:ai founders Omri Geller and Ronen Dar indicated in a statement that open-sourcing the software will help the community build better AI, faster.
“While Run:ai currently supports only Nvidia GPUs, open-sourcing the software will enable it to extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem.”
Geller and Dar.
The Israeli startup founders also added that this will continue to help their customers get the most of their AI infrastructure and offer the ecosystem maximum flexibility, efficiency, and utilization for GPU systems, whenever they are.
The Nvidia – Run:ai transaction to help customers orchestrate their AI infrastructure
The two founders also revealed that they will continue to strengthen their partnerships and work alongside the ecosystem to give customers various AI solutions and platform choices.
“True to our open-platform philosophy, as part of Nvidia, we will keep empowering AI teams with the freedom to choose the tools, platforms, and frameworks that best suit their needs,” said Geller and Dar.
The Israel-based startup revealed that its goal when it started in 2018 was to be a driving force in the AI revolution and empower organizations to unlock the full potential of their AI infrastructure.
According to VB, the company helps its customers orchestrate their AI infrastructure, enhance efficiency, and utilization as well as boost the productivity of their teams.
“We are thrilled to build on this momentum, now as part of Nvidia. AI and accelerated computing are transforming the world at an unprecedented pace, and we believe this is just the beginning,” the Run:ai founders said.
“GPUs and AI infrastructure will remain at the forefront of driving these transformative innovations and joining Nvidia provides us an extraordinary opportunity to carry forward a joint mission of helping humanity solve the world’s greatest challenges,” they added.
While Nvidia has for long been making graphics chips that have become useful in running AI software, the company is also now emphasizing software. Nvidia controls about 80% market share of AI graphics processors. The Run:ai acquisition therefore now relates to giving their customers efficiency and flexibility for GPU orchestration software.
The two companies have been collaborating since 2020 and have joint customers.
Nvidia first announced the acquisition of the Israeli startup in April in a deal worth $700 million, a price tag that was to be reviewed by the bloc following requests by Italian regulators under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). This delayed the conclusion of the transaction as it was under probe before it got approved earlier this month.
When announcing its plans, Nvidia said the deal would help customers make more efficient use of their computing resources.
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