Intel is taking a significant step into the AI-powered enterprise software market by creating a spinout company called Articul8 AI. The venture is supported by investment from DigitalBridge, an asset manager and investor based in Boca Raton, Florida.
The new platform company originated from a proof-of-concept developed in collaboration between Intel and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), focusing on generative AI systems capable of processing text and images within BCG’s secure data centers.
Genesis of Articul8 AI:
Intel’s internal development of the generative AI system spanned over two years, and the company fine-tuned it to meet BCG’s specific security requirements.
Initially exclusive to BCG, Intel has scaled the platform, optimizing it for Intel hardware while supporting alternatives.
Articul8 is designed to cater to industries with high-security needs, such as financial services, aerospace, semiconductor, and telecommunications.
Key Features and Deployment Flexibility:
The Articul8 platform is built for speed, scalability, security, and sustainability, offering customers deployment choices in the cloud, on-premises, or in a mixed environment.
It emphasizes keeping customer data, training, and inference within enterprise security parameters.
The platform seeks to address the needs of enterprises with a focus on deployment speed, scalability, security, and sustainability, including cost considerations.
Leadership and Stakeholder Information:
Arun Subramaniyan, formerly a VP and GM at Intel’s data center and AI group, will lead Articul8 as its CEO. The company’s team consists of former Intel employees, and Intel will maintain an undisclosed stake in the new venture.
Additional investors in Articul8 include Fin Capital, Mindset Ventures, Communitas Capital, GiantLeap Capital, GS Futures, and Zain Group.
Strategic Alignment with Intel:
Intel plans to remain strategically aligned with Articul8, leveraging its enterprise-gen AI software for internal use cases. The collaboration includes offering the platform to end customers through a joint go-to-market partnership.
This partnership aims to drive the consumption of Intel compute offerings while allowing Intel to utilize Articul8’s AI domain knowledge and expertise as it expands in the generative AI market.
Intel’s Larger Strategy and Spinouts:
Intel’s move to launch Articul8 is part of its broader strategy to seek external capital for business units. This approach involves spinouts, as seen with the creation of Mobileye for car chips and the eventual IPO plans for its programmable chip unit.
These strategic moves align with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s plan to raise capital for the company’s comeback strategy, which includes building new chip factories in the U.S. and Europe and introducing advanced chip manufacturing nodes within the next four years.
Articul8 fits into Gelsinger’s broader vision to deliver competitive software products and services, including GenAI-powered offerings, to enhance Intel’s market position.