AMD, the chipmaker sizzling on the heels of Nvidia within the AI race, at this time introduced an enormous acquisition to spice up its place as an “ecosystem” associate for corporations constructing massive AI companies: it’s buying ZT Programs, which gives compute design and infrastructure for AI, cloud and basic goal computing, for $4.9 billion. The deal is a mixture of money and inventory and features a contingent fee of as much as $400 million if sure efficiency metrics are met.
The plan is to include ZT Programs’ computing infrastructure design enterprise. AMD stated it’ll look to promote ZT Programs’ knowledge heart infrastructure manufacturing enterprise to “a strategic associate.”
Primarily based in New Jersey, ZT Programs has been privately-held because it was based in 1994, and has disclosed just one exterior funding spherical — it raised $850 million in debt in 2023, in keeping with PitchBook. It really works carefully with massive chipmakers corresponding to Nvidia and Intel throughout areas corresponding to server options for storage, GPU/accelerators, high-performance computing, 5G, and edge computing.
AMD stated the deal will give it a deeper bench of experience in AI methods design involving not simply silicon, however software program and methods — that might assist AMD promote extra of its chips (and methods powered by its chips) to clients. AMD stated it has already invested about $1 billion in constructing its broader ecosystem.
There’s a want for that enhanced strategy: As AI methods develop extra advanced, one main precedence for giant tech corporations constructing and working them will probably be to extend the effectivity of their methods for essentially the most compute-heavy elements corresponding to AI mannequin coaching and inferencing.
“Our acquisition of ZT Programs is the subsequent main step in our long-term AI technique to ship management coaching and inferencing options that may be quickly deployed at scale throughout cloud and enterprise clients,” AMD chair and CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, stated in an announcement. “ZT provides world-class methods design and rack-scale options experience that may considerably strengthen our knowledge heart AI methods and buyer enablement capabilities. This acquisition additionally builds on the investments now we have made to speed up our AI {hardware} and software program roadmaps. Combining our high-performance Intuition AI accelerator, EPYC CPU, and networking product portfolios with ZT Programs’ industry-leading knowledge heart methods experience will allow AMD to ship end-to-end knowledge heart AI infrastructure at scale with our ecosystem of OEM and ODM companions.”
ZT Programs doesn’t disclose the names of its shoppers, but it surely seems to have elevated its profile lately for offering specialist assist in a few of the thorniest and costliest elements of AI computing structure design.
Its CEO Frank Zhang will lead AMD’s manufacturing enterprise. ZT Programs will grow to be part of AMD’s Knowledge Middle Options Enterprise Group.
“We’re excited to hitch AMD and collectively play a fair bigger function designing the AI infrastructure that’s defining the way forward for computing,” stated Zhang, CEO of ZT Programs, in an announcement. “For nearly 30 years now we have developed our enterprise to grow to be a number one supplier of vital computing and storage infrastructure for the world’s largest cloud corporations. AMD shares our imaginative and prescient for the essential function our know-how and our individuals play designing and constructing the computing infrastructure powering the biggest knowledge facilities on the planet.”
ZT President Doug Huang will lead the design and buyer enablement groups, and each will report back to AMD government vp and basic supervisor, Forrest Norrod.
The deal is anticipated to shut within the first half of 2025.
