Nvidia corp completes acquisition of Israeli software startup Run:ai

The software - which currently works on only Nvidia-based systems - will be open-sourced, meaning that others will be able to take code & use it to tune computers that use hardware from Nvidia's rival

By Ian King 

Nvidia Corp. has completed the acquisition of Israeli startup Run:ai, gaining software that helps owners of intelligence computing gear get the best out of their hardware. 

The software — which currently works on only Nvidia-based systems — will be open-sourced, meaning that others will be able to take the code and use it to tune computers that use hardware from Nvidia’s rivals, Run:ai said in a posting on its website. 

 

“We are eager to build on the achievements we’ve obtained until now, expand our talented team, and grow our product and market reach,” Run:ai said. “Open sourcing the software will enable it to extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem.”

 

Nvidia has become one of the world’s most-valuable companies by winning the race to provide crucial parts of data centers that run AI-based services. While other chipmakers have posted rapid growth in the area, none have come close to rivaling the tens of billions of dollars a quarter Nvidia rakes in from sales of accelerator chips. 

 

Nvidia declined to comment on the deal’s value. Israeli newspaper Calcalist reported in April that the value of the transaction was $700 million. Nvidia’s last major deal in Israel was the $7 billion acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. in 2020.

 

Run:ai has been a close collaborator with Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia since 2020, Nvidia said when it announced the deal in April. Run:ai was founded in 2018 by Omri Geller and Ronen Dar.