Intel Buys Hyderabad-based Ineda Systems

Article By : Sufia Tippu

US-based chip maker Intel Corporation has acquired Hyderabad-based start-up Ineda Systems, a fabless semiconductor product company, for an undisclosed amount.

Bengaluru: US-based chip maker Intel Corporation, which has been aggressively scouting around in India and Asia for new technologies has acquired Hyderabad-based start-up Ineda Systems, a fabless semiconductor product company, for an undisclosed amount.

According to a report in The Times of India, the all-cash deal sealed last week is more in the nature of an acquihire – a transaction in which a company is acquired mainly for the skill sets of its workforce rather than products or services.

Intel has acquired around 100 engineers from Ineda primarily for their skills in graphics, an area where the US giant has chalked out ambitious plans. It is has been learnt that Intel will also be acquiring the leased Ineda Systems office in Kondapur, located near Google, which currently houses the engineering talent acquired.

Founded in 2011, by industry veterans from US and India Dasaradha Gude, popularly known in the industry circles as GD, and Balaji Kanigicherla, Ineda was working with an ultimate goal of becoming a leader in developing low power SOC’s (System On a Chip) for use in both consumer and enterprise applications.

Gude confirmed the development, but refused to divulge any details. The same with Intel – they too refused to confirm the deal.

“Intel acquired engineering resources from Ineda Systems, a silicon and platform services provider based in Hyderabad. This transaction provides Intel with an experienced SOC (system on chip) team to help build a world-class discrete GPU business,” an Intel spokesperson.

Ineda Systems, which was set up in 2010-11 by Hyderabad based serial entrepreneur Dasaradha Gude, is engaged in the sphere of autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and IoT.

The start-up was in the news in 2013-14 for its design and development of low-power Dhanush chips for wearable devices and had raised over $60 million from big-ticket investors, including Samsung Catalyst Fund, Qualcomm Ventures, Walden-Riverwood Ventures, Imagination Technologies, among others, but ran into rough weather after it shifted gears to automotive technologies.

Gude, who founded Ineda after he quit as AMD India managing director, remained an investor in Ineda though he went on to set up Invecas in 2014 and regained 100% stake in Ineda in Nov 2018.

Intel, which has a few hundred engineers engaged in software development in Hyderabad, is also planning to set up a global technology centre in Hyderabad housing around 1,500 engineers initially, which may be ramped up to 5,000 people, as per an announcement made by then IT minister KT Rama Rao’s office in Nov 2018.

— Sufia Tippu is a freelance tech journalist based in India contributing to EE Times India.

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