Qualcomm Technologies has acquired MovianAI, a Vietnamese developer of artificial intelligence.
The news was picked up earlier by SiliconANGLE. MovianAI is the GenAI department of VinAI Application and Research JSC, a research center for machine learning. VinAI is part of Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates. This company is active in various sectors, including hotel management and car manufacturing.
According to Jilei Hou, senior vice president of engineering at Qualcomm, attracting highly qualified talent from VinAI strengthens Qualcomm’s ability to deliver advanced AI solutions that benefit a wide range of industries and consumers.
VinAI, the parent company of MovianAI, is led by former DeepMind researcher Hung Bui. Since its founding in 2019, the company has published several scientific articles on generative AI and posted dozens of open-source projects on GitHub.
Models for image generation
About two years ago, VinAI researchers presented a new method for developing image generation models. This technique uses an existing image generation model to train a smaller algorithm that can perform the same tasks with less computing power. According to VinAI, this technology reduces the need for training data and facilitates development.
In addition to new machine learning techniques, the laboratory also developed various open-source AI models. One of the image generation algorithms combines three different neural network architectures, namely diffusion, transformer and Mamba architectures. Mamba is a relatively new alternative to transformer architecture and can handle hardware more efficiently in certain situations.
VinAI also developed an LLM
VinAI’s research work goes beyond image generation. The company has also developed a customized large language model, RecGPT-7B, which is optimized for recommendation system tasks.
According to VinAI CEO Hung Bui, the company is ready to contribute to Qualcomm’s mission to conduct groundbreaking fundamental AI research and apply it on a large scale in various sectors, including smartphones, PCs, and software-defined vehicles. He will join the chip company as part of the acquisition.
MovianAI’s expertise in model development can help Qualcomm improve its suite of AI development tools. These tools make it easier for companies to implement machine learning applications on devices with Qualcomm processors.
Tools to optimize models
Qualcomm offers a library of preconfigured AI models optimized for its own hardware. These algorithms make it unnecessary for companies to train new models from scratch, speeding up development. For software teams that still want to build customized models, Qualcomm offers tools that help optimize their performance.
The acquisition of MovianAI follows less than a month after the acquisition of Edge Impulse Inc., another specialist in AI development. This company’s software makes building AI models that can run efficiently on connected devices easier. Before the acquisition, Edge Impulse had raised approximately 54 million dollars in investments and had built up a user base of more than 170,000 developers.