Artificial intelligence remains key as Intel buys Nervana

With Intel's acquisition of the deep learning startup Nervana Systems on Monday, the chipmaker is moving further into artificial intelligence, a field that's become a key focus for tech companies in recent years. Intel's purchase of the company comes in the wake of Apple's acquisition of Seattle-based Turi Inc. last week, while Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Twitter, and Samsung have also made similar deals. Those purchases – large tech firms have bought 31 AI startups since 2011 – according to the research firm CB Insights, also underscore a shift. While AI was once thought of as a sci-fi concept, the technology behind it has come to propel a slew of innovations by hardware and software companies that both attract attention – like self-driving cars – and ones that often go unnoticed, like product recommendations on Amazon. "Intel's acquisition of [Nervana] is an acknowledgment that this area of deep learning, machine learning, artificial intelligence, is really an important part of all companies going forward," says David Schubmehl, an analyst who focuses on the field at the research firm IDC. Intel also purchased Saffron Technologies, which aims to solve complex problems using "cognitive computing," last fall.