Intel acqui-hires Indian chipmaker

US-headquartered technology giant Intel Corporation has acqui-hired Ineda Systems, a Hyderabad-based start-up which manufactures microchips.

This transaction provides Intel with an experienced SOC (system on chip) team to help build a world-class discrete GPU business. An SoC is a microchip that combines the required electronic circuits of various computer components onto a single, integrated chip.

Ineda's employees will now join Intel but it will continue to exist as a separate entity for legal purposes. Intel has snapped up close to 100 engineers from Ineda for their skills in graphics, an area in which the US giant intends to invest heavily.

Ineda was founded in 2011 by Dasaradha Gude, a former managing director of chipmaker AMD India. Ineda Systems had made a name for itself by designing low-power chips called Dhanush for wearable devices. The company shifted focus to automotive technologies in recent years and currently works in the spheres of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT).

It had cumulatively raised around $60 million in funding from high-profile investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Imagination Technologies, and Walden-Riverwood Ventures.