Intel drops AI products from Nervana, shifts focus to Habana

Intel is dropping development of the line of neural network processors it acquired through its $400 million purchase of AI chipmaker Nervana in 2016.

Why it matters: The move comes amid continued competition from Nvidia and others and follows Intel's purchase in December of Habana Labs, another startup in the AI chip space.

• An Intel representative told Axios the company wants to focus on a single product line and will build on Habana's technology going forward.
• "The Habana product line offers the strong, strategic advantage of a unified, highly-programmable architecture for both inference and training," Intel said.
• The company will continue supporting the current chip running Nervana's technology, known as Spring Hill, but is canceling work on a follow-up known as Spring Crest.

Go deeper:

• Intel acquires Israel-based Habana Labs for $2 billion
• The product announcements to watch for at CES 2020