Nvidia was among CentAI’s early investors, joining Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, and others in the $37-million seed-funding round.Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Canadian machine learning efficiency company CentML Inc. has been acquired by U.S. technology giant Nvidia Corp. NVDA-Q, the latest Canadian-founded company to end up in American hands in recent weeks.
The Toronto-based company, co-founded by University of Toronto professor Gennady Pekhimenko, specializes in optimizing how AI applications run.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Nvidia has acquired CentML, including its technology and customer base. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source because they are not authorized to talk publicly.
Nvidia was among CentML’s early investors, joining Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, and others in the $37-million seed-funding round. Toronto-based Radical Ventures was also an investor.
The company discontinued its federal business registration on June 6, according to a database managed by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, but continued its registration in B.C.
At the same time, the company updated its B.C. registration with new director and delivery address information. The newly listed directors are three Nvidia executives with delivery addresses for the chipmaker’s headquarters in California.
One employee noted on LinkedIn that the company had been acquired by Nvidia, and more than a dozen others, including Mr. Pekhimenko, have updated their profiles in the last month to show they now work for Nvidia.
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Mr. Pekhimenko now lists his title as senior director of AI software. Neither Mr. Pekhimenko nor the company immediately responded to a request for comment Friday.
The acquisition was first reported by The Logic Friday.
One of CentML’s offerings is a platform that allows companies to deploy AI models more efficiently, squeezing more juice out of computing equipment. Lowering cost is a big incentive, but there are environmental benefits, too.
Mr. Pekhimenko, a faculty member at the Vector Institute for AI, founded CentML in 2022 alongside a team with experience at Nvidia, Google and Amazon.
CentML is the second Canadian AI startup to be acquired by a U.S. company in June.
Earlier this month, The Globe reported that chip startup Untether AI began winding down after failing to raise money and reaching a deal to transfer its engineering employees – but not its intellectual property – to Advanced Micro Devices in a deal known as an “acquihire.”
Untether, which designed energy-efficient computer chips for artificial intelligence applications such as autonomous vehicles, robots and drones, had struggled to compete against Nvidia after pivoting too late to serve the hardware market for powering generative AI applications such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Economic uncertainty owing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda also contributed to Untether’s difficulties raising new funds from investors this year, The Globe reported.
With files from Sean Silcoff
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