Intel said Monday it will pay $2 billion for Habana Labs, an Israeli chip company developing artificial intelligence technology for data centers.
The announcement confirms a deal that had been widely reported in the Israeli press this month. The transaction deepens Intel’s ties to Israel, where it already has an advanced semiconductor factory and a major research center. In 2017 Intel paid $15.3 billion for an Israeli company, Mobileye, that makes technology for self-driving cars.
Intel said Monday that Habana Labs’ technology offers efficient, easy-to-program tools for running artificial intelligence technology inside data centers. Intel said Habana will continue operating independently under its current management team, reporting to Intel’s data center group.
Though its headquarters are in California, Intel’s largest and most advanced operations are in Washington County, Ore., where the company employs 20,000.
