Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) announced on Monday that it has acquired artificial intelligence chipmaker Habana Labs for USD 2 Billion, strengthening its AI portfolio and accelerating its presence in the AI market.

“This acquisition advances our AI strategy, which is to provide customers with solutions to fit every performance need – from the intelligent edge to the data center,” said Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Platforms Group at Intel. “More specifically, Habana turbo-charges our AI offerings for the data center with a high-performance training processor family and a standards-based programming environment to address evolving AI workloads.”

Intel’s AI strategy is to harness the power of AI to improve business outcomes that require a mix of technology, hardware, software, and full ecosystem support. In 2019, Intel expects to generate over USD 3.5 Billion in AI-driven revenue, up more than 20% year-over-year.

The combination of Intel and Habana will accelerate the delivery of best-in-class AI products for data center, addressing customers’ evolving needs.

Shenoy continued: “We know that customers are looking for ease of programmability with purpose-built AI solutions, as well as superior, scalable performance on a wide variety of workloads and neural network topologies. That’s why we’re thrilled to have an AI team of Habana’s caliber with a proven track record of execution joining Intel. Our combined IP and expertise will deliver unmatched computing performance and efficiency for AI workloads in the data center.”

Habana will continue to remain as an independent business unit and will continue to be led by its current management team. Habana will report to Intel’s Data Platforms Group. Habana Chairman Avigdor Willenz has agreed to serve as a senior adviser to the business unit as well as to Intel. Habana will continue to be based in Israel.

“We have been fortunate to get to know and collaborate with Intel given its investment in Habana, and we’re thrilled to be officially joining the team,” said David Dahan, Chief Executive Officer of Habana. “Intel has created a world-class AI team and capability. We are excited to partner with Intel to accelerate and scale our business. Together, we will deliver our customers more AI innovation, faster.”