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Intel, intent on making bigger moves in the market for AI-powered enterprise software, is spinning out<\/a> a new platform company with the backing of Boca Raton, Florida-based asset manager and investor DigitalBridge.<\/p>\n Called Articul8 AI<\/a> (an awkward abbreviation of \u201cArticulate AI\u201d), the new entity builds off a proof-of-concept from an Intel collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BSG) early last May. Reuters reports<\/a> that Intel, using its hardware and a combination of open source and internally-sourced software, created a gen AI system that can read text and images \u2014 running inside BCG\u2019s datacenters to address BSG\u2019s security requirements.<\/p>\n The system was developed within Intel over the course of two or so years. But it was more recently fine-tuned for BSG\u2019s specific uses, according to CRN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Initially, BCG was the sole go-to-market supplier and customer of the system. Over the last few months, however, Intel\u2019s worked to scale the platform \u2014 which is optimized for Intel hardware but supports alternatives \u2014 to companies in financial services, aerospace, semiconductor, telecommunications and other industries that \u201crequire high levels of security and specialized domain knowledge,\u201d according to an Intel spokesperson.<\/p>\n \u201cArticul8\u2019s gen AI software product was built from the ground up to address the needs of enterprises and is optimized for speed of deployment, scalability, security and sustainability \u2014 including costs,\u201d the spokesperson told TechCrunch via email. \u201cThe Articul8 platform delivers AI capabilities that keep customer data, training and inference within the enterprise security perimeter. The platform also provides customers the choice of cloud, on prem or hybrid deployment.\u201d<\/p>\n Arun Subramaniyan, formerly a VP and GM at Intel\u2019s datacenter and AI group, will become the spin-out\u2019s CEO. The rest of the Articul8 team will also comprise ex-Intel employees, and Intel will retain an undisclosed stake in the firm.<\/p>\n Beyond Intel and DigitalBridge, which is publicly traded and a major investor in datacenters, Articul8 investors include Fin Capital, Mindset Ventures, Communitas Capital, GiantLeap Capital, GS Futures and Zain Group.<\/p>\n \u201cIntel and Articul8 will remain strategically aligned and Intel plans to leverage Articul8\u2019s enterprise gen AI software for internal use cases as well as offer it to end customers as part of a joint go-to-market partnership,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThis collaboration will drive consumption of Intel compute offerings [and] Intel will continue to leverage Articul8\u2019s AI domain knowledge and expertise as Intel continues to grow its footprint in the generative AI market.\u201d<\/p>\n Reuters notes that Intel\u2019s move to launch Articul8 is its latest endeavor to seek outside capital for business units. The chipmaker spun out car chip firm Mobileye, sold off<\/a> its memory chip division and intends an eventual initial public offering<\/a> of its programmable chip unit.<\/p>\n The spin-outs are part of Intel\u2019s strategy to raise capital for CEO Pat Gelsinger\u2019s comeback plan, which involves building out new chip factories in the U.S. and Europe as well as introducing new advanced chip manufacturing nodes within the next four years. In particular, Articul8 fits into Gelsinger\u2019s plans to deliver new software products and services \u2014 including gen AI-powered products \u2014 that rival those from competitors like Nvidia and AMD and make Intel hardware more attractive for a range of applications.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n