Nvidia to Buy Two Israeli Startups That Make Its AI Chips Cheaper to Use

During the artificial intelligence boom, chipmaker Nvidia became one of the most active corporate venture capitalists, investing in over 30 startups last year alone, according to PitchBook. Now it may become one of the most active acquirers of AI startups.

Nvidia has recently struck two agreements to buy Israeli AI startups, including one of Run:ai, announced Wednesday, and another of Deci, yet to be announced, according to a person involved in the deal. Both venture-backed startups aim to lower the cost of developing or running AI models that generate text, images and code, which is important to Nvidia’s hopes of maintaining demand for its specialized chips that power these models.