Amazon has agreed to acquire Perceive, a chip maker and AI model compression company, for $80 million in cash. Perceive, a subsidiary of Xperi, specializes in technology for large artificial intelligence models on edge devices. Edge devices operate with limited power, processing, and storage on the boundaries of networks. Although Amazon has not revealed its specific plans for the technology, it aims to bring large language models and multi-modal experiences to devices capable of running on the edge. The deal is structured as an asset purchase agreement and is expected to close by the end of the year, and most of Perceive’s 44 employees are expected to join Amazon.
Regulators are taking a closer look at AI deals between tech giants and smaller startups. For example, Amazon faced questions from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in June when it hired the founders of Adept, a startup building AI agents for enterprise workflows. Amazon’s acquisition of Perceive is seen as building on the company’s existing investments in edge technologies and custom silicon to enhance the performance and speed of its devices. The company’s Amazon Web Services cloud division has been developing custom silicon for cloud computing and AI workloads for many years, following its acquisition of Annapurna Labs a decade ago.
The acquisition of Perceive falls under Amazon’s Devices & Services division, which includes Alexa, Fire TV, Echo smart speakers and displays, and is led by former Microsoft executive Panos Panay. Perceive, led by co-CEOs Murali Dharan and Steve Teig, has employees in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Romania, and Estonia. Perceive’s Boise, Idaho, lab is expected to remain operational post-acquisition, with the majority of employees joining Amazon’s Devices & Services team. The company had been incubated by Xperi and became a standalone subsidiary in 2018, with Xperi announcing earlier this year that it was exploring strategic alternatives for Perceive.
Perceive’s competitors in the edge AI computing space include startups such as Axelera and Halio, both of which have raised significant funding. Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner expressed satisfaction in finding a suitable home for Perceive, its employees, and its technology, noting that Amazon’s acquisition will take the technology to the next level. The deal is not expected to require regulatory approval and is described by Amazon as a routine acquisition. By integrating Perceive’s technology, Amazon aims to enhance its capabilities in large language models, multi-modal experiences, and edge computing, further solidifying its position in the AI and technology space.
