Juniper Networks invests in AI startup Recogni in $102 million funding round

Juniper Networks

12/11/2024 14:00

By Akash Sriram
       Nov 12 (Reuters) - Networking gear maker Juniper
Networks  JNPR.N  has invested in artificial intelligence firm
Recogni as part of a $102 million late-stage funding round, the
companies said on Tuesday.
    Recogni said it will collaborate with Juniper Networks to
build an AI inference system that can be installed in server
racks.
    Cloud service providers have been investing billions in data
center infrastructure, including servers for training AI models
and AI inferencing, which involves models making predictions or
decisions based on new and unseen data.
    "Currently, we're focused on being an infrastructure
supplier into data centers, providing the compute that's needed
to run the largest generative AI multimodal models," Recogni CEO
Marc Bolitho told Reuters.
    Earlier this year, Hewlett Packard Enterprise  HPE.N  said
it would buy Juniper Networks for $14 billion in an all-cash
deal, as it looks to spruce up the company's AI offerings.
    The AI startup is developing its second chip for generative
AI with chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
 2330.TW  and the inference system is set to go into production
in 2026, Recogni said.
    The startup in August unveiled a novel computing method that
could make its chips used to train and run artificial
intelligence systems smaller, faster and less expensive to
operate.
    The fundraising round was co-led by venture capital firms
Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures, the startup said;
however, it did not disclose a valuation figure.
    Venture capital arms of BMW  BMWG.DE , Bosch and Toyota
 7203.T  had invested in the AI firm previously.

 (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay
Kishore)
 ((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; On X as @HoodieOnVeshti;
+91-74116-87774;))