Artificial Intelligence Industry Turmoil: Acquisitions, Mergers, and Restructuring

In recent years, among numerous technological fields, artificial intelligence has undoubtedly become the hottest research direction. The rapid development of AI technology has triggered continuous waves of excitement globally, with its influence and attention far surpassing other technological domains.

The AI industry has developed rapidly in recent years, but also faces many challenges:

  1. AI giants like NVIDIA have seen their market value soar, but many AI startups are stuck in a situation of burning money without making profits.

  2. Some well-known AI companies like Perplexity, MistralAI, and Anthropic are facing commercialization difficulties.

  3. Multiple AI chip companies are facing financial difficulties and bankruptcy risks.

  4. The funding environment for AI startups has deteriorated, with seed round funding in the US dropping 70% year-on-year in the first quarter.

  5. China's AI industry also saw a significant decrease in both the number and amount of funding in 2023.

  6. Industry acquisitions are active, with well-funded large companies acquiring quality assets.

Two recent important acquisition cases:

  1. AMD acquires Silo AI for $665 million

    • Aims to enhance AI software capabilities, challenging NVIDIA
    • Silo AI has a strong AI R&D team and technical accumulation
    • Helps AMD fill its software shortcomings

  2. SoftBank acquires Graphcore

    • Graphcore was once seen as the "British version of NVIDIA" but has been under performance pressure in recent years
    • This move accelerates SoftBank's AI ecosystem layout
    • Following the acquisition of Arm, SoftBank continues to increase investment in the AI field

These acquisitions reflect the consolidation trend in the AI industry and the ambition of large companies to accelerate their AI layout. The industry landscape may be further reshaped.