Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has announced plans to acquire Silo AI, Europe's largest private artificial intelligence lab, in a $665 million all-cash deal.

The acquisition, expected to close in the second half of 2024, marks a significant step in AMD's strategy to deliver comprehensive AI solutions and compete with industry leader Nvidia.

Helsinki-based Silo AI specialises in developing tailored AI models, platforms, and solutions for enterprises across various sectors. The company's client roster includes prominent names such as Allianz, Philips, Rolls-Royce, and Unilever.

Vamsi Boppana, AMD's senior vice president of the Artificial Intelligence Group, highlighted the strategic importance of the acquisition: "Silo AI's team of trusted AI experts and proven experience developing leadership AI models and solutions, including state-of-the-art LLMs built on AMD platforms, will further accelerate our AI strategy and advance the build-out and rapid implementation of AI solutions for our global customers."

The move comes as part of AMD's broader push into the AI market. Over the past year, the company has invested more than $125 million across a dozen AI firms and acquired software companies Mipsology and Nod.ai.

Peter Sarlin, chief executive officer and co-founder of Silo AI, expressed enthusiasm about the merger: "Today's announcement is a logical next step in that pursuit as we join forces with AMD to shape the future of AI computing. We look forward to becoming part of AMD to further scale our impact and develop enterprise solutions and AI models that address the most complex challenges with deploying AI at scale today."

Silo AI has been at the forefront of large language model training, collaborating with academic partners to develop state-of-the-art open-source models for European languages. Dr Pekka Manninen, director of Science and Technology at CSC-IT Center for Science in Finland, noted: "Silo AI has been a pioneer in scaling large language model training on LUMI, Europe's fastest supercomputer powered by over 12,000 AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs."

The acquisition is poised to enhance AMD's capabilities in AI model development and deployment, potentially unlocking significant business opportunities in the rapidly expanding AI market.

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