Amazon has announced its acquisition of Perceive, a company specializing in neural network inference solutions, for $80 million in cash. Perceive, a majority-owned subsidiary of Xperi Corporation, was launched in 2018 and is known for its innovative approach to enhancing performance, accuracy, and power efficiency while prioritizing consumer security and privacy.
The deal, structured as an asset purchase agreement, is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Amazon looks forward to integrating Perceive’s talented team into its efforts to enhance the capabilities of devices operating at the edge, focusing on advanced technologies like LLMs and multi-modal experiences. The majority of Perceive’s 44 employees are expected to join Amazon following the acquisition.
Perceive is led by co-CEOs Murali Dharan and Steve Teig, with employees spread across the globe, and the company will maintain a lab in Idaho. Teig, who spearheaded the creation of Perceive while serving as CTO of Xperi, is known for his leadership in technology development and machine learning. Dharan, previously responsible for driving Xperi’s licensing business, oversees Perceive’s business operations.
The acquisition of Perceive by Amazon falls under the umbrella of the Devices & Services unit, which includes popular products like Alexa, Echo smart speakers, and Fire TV, led by former Microsoft executive Panos Panay. Originally incubated by Xperi and later established as a subsidiary, Perceive’s flagship product, the Ergo AI processor, can execute data center-class neural networks in various environments, including power-constrained settings.
This acquisition marks a strategic move by Amazon to strengthen its presence in the rapidly evolving technology landscape, leveraging Perceive’s expertise in neural network solutions to enhance its product offerings and deliver cutting-edge experiences to consumers.
