VMware、AI、MLアクセラレータのビット融合を強化

Bitfusionのテクノロジは、グラフィックプロセッサユニット、フィールドプログラマブルゲートアレイ、および計算能力を強化するための特定用途向け集積回路のようなハードウェアアクセラレータの仮想化に焦点を当てています。VMware is acquiring Austin, Texas-based Bitfusion in a move to boost its ability to support artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads in its core vSphere virtualization platform. Krish Prasad, senior vice president and general manager for VMware’s cloud platform business unit, explained in a blog post that Bitfusion will help customers “more efficiently use AI technologies on-premises and in hybrid cloud environments.” Bitfusion’s technology is focused on the virtualization of hardware accelerators like graphic processor units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to bolster computing power. Its software platform decouples those specific physical resources from the servers where they reside so that those resources can be shared across the environment. The virtualization of these accelerators is traditionally done in hardware, which limits how those resources can be allocated across an organization. “Multi-vendor hardware accelerators and the ecosystem around them are key components for delivering modern applications,” Prasad wrote. “These accelerators can be used regardless of location in the environment – on-premises and/or in the cloud.” Financial terms of the deal were not released, but Prasad noted that Bitfusion would be integrated into its vSphere platform. Bitfusion has raised $8.3 million in funding through a trio of rounds since its founding in 2015. Investors include Samsung Ventures, Vanedge Capital, Data Collective VC, Resonant VC, and the Geekdom Fund. Bitfusion last year joined VMware’s Technology Alliance Partner program. It later linked its FlexDirect platform with VMware and Mellanox for attaching GPUs to any virtual machine (VM) and be part of a common infrastructure resource pool. The deal is the latest by VMware as it continues to evolve its operation toward greater use of cloud native and virtualization resources. Earlier this year it announced plans to acquire Bitnami, which provides application packaging targeted at container and Kubernetes environments. That followed its $550 million acquisition of Kubernetes-focused startup Heptio.