HYDERABAD: US-based chip giant Intel Corporation, which has been shopping for new technologies and skilled talent, has quietly snapped up Hyderabad-based startup Ineda Systems , a low-key fabless semiconductor product company, for an undisclosed amount.

The all-cash deal sealed last week is more in the nature of an acquihire — a transaction in which a company is acquired mainly for the skill sets of its workforce rather than products or services. According to sources, Intel has acquired around 100 engineers of Ineda for their skills in graphics, an area where the US giant has chalked out ambitious plans. It is learnt that Intel will also be acquiring the leased Ineda Systems office in Kondapur, located near Google, which currently houses the engineering talent acquired.

Ineda shot to fame after its chips for wearables

Ineda Systems founder Dasaradha Gude confirmed the development, but refused to divulge any details. When TOI reached out to Intel, officials confirmed the deal but they too declined to disclose transaction details.

“Intel acquired engineering resources from Ineda Systems, a silicon and platform services provider based in Hyderabad. This transaction provides Intel with an experienced SOC (system on chip) team to help build a world-class discrete GPU business,” an Intel spokesperson told TOI.

Ineda Systems, which was set up in 2010-11 by Hyderabad based serial entrepreneur Dasaradha Gude, operates in the sphere of autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and IoT. The startup hit the headlines in 2013-14 for its design and development of low-power Dhanush chips for wearable devices and had raised over $60 million from big-ticket investors, including Samsung Catalyst Fund, Qualcomm Ventures, Walden-Riverwood Ventures, Imagination Technologies, among others, but ran into rough weather after it shifted gears to automotive technologies. Gude, who founded Ineda after he quit as AMD India managing director, remained an investor in Ineda though he went on to set up Invecas in 2014 and regained 100% stake in Ineda in Nov 2018. Intel, which has a few hundred engineers engaged in software development in Hyderabad, is also planning to set up a global technology centre in Hyderabad housing around 1,500 engineers initially, which may be ramped up to 5,000 people, as per an announcement made by then IT minister KT Rama Rao’s office in Nov 2018.

