Intel Has Joined Forces With DigitalBridge To Set Up Generative AI Firm

On Wednesday, Intel announced that it is setting up a new independent company focused on its generative AI efforts called Articul8 with backing from DigitalBridge Group, a leading global alternative asset manager, and other investors.

Executives from Intel have not commented on the value of the deal struck or whether it would keep a majority stake in the new venture. They only revealed that they would have an independent board of directors and that the chipmaker would continue to be a shareholder.

Articul8 aims to be an independent firm offering enterprise customers a full-stack, vertically optimized, and secure generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) software platform. It will deliver AI efforts that securely retain customer data, training, and inference within the enterprise perimeter, according to Intel.

The generative AI system can read text and images using a mix of open-source and internally developed technology, as reported by Reuters. Intel “modified that system to run inside BCG’s own data centers to help address BCG’s privacy and security concerns.”

Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO, said, “With its deep AI and HPC domain knowledge and enterprise-grade GenAI deployments, Articul8 is well positioned to deliver tangible business outcomes for Intel and our broader ecosystem of customers and partners. As Intel accelerates AI everywhere, we look forward to our continued collaboration with Articul8.”

DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi also commented, saying, “Every global enterprise today is challenged to integrate GenAI capabilities into their workflows. Articul8 has built a scalable and easy-to-deploy GenAI software platform that is already enabling enterprises to unlock value from their proprietary data. We see GenAI as a pivotal force driving digital infrastructure, and we are pleased to collaborate with Intel to support Articul8’s growth.”

DigitalBridge is the lead investor of Articul8 in addition to Intel, but the new company has other venture investors as well, including Fin Capital, Mindset Ventures, Communitas Capital, GiantLeap Capital, GS Futures, and Zain Group, which have all taken an equity stake in the company.

Rich Lesser, global chair of BCG, said, “GenAI is at the forefront of our clients’ business strategy and needs. Our collaboration began nearly two years ago while the venture was still in the incubation stage at Intel. Since then, we have deployed Articul8 products for multiple clients seeking production-ready platforms with rapid time to market.”

Backed by industry investment, Articul8 is an independent company that will be able to accelerate its go-to-market approach and expand its product offerings within the wider generative AI environment.

Intel’s former vice president and general manager in Intel’s data center and AI group, Arun Subramaniyan, will take the position of chief executive of Articul8. He highlighted concerns among potential customers about handing over their data to big cloud computing firms for AI work. He added that potential customers were concerned about runaway costs if thousands of their employees adopted the system.