DigitalOcean Acquires Paperspace, a move that signifies the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) in cloud computing.
DigitalOcean, the renowned cloud hosting business, just announced a $111 million cash deal to acquire New York-based cloud computing and AI development startup, Paperspace.
DigitalOcean Acquires AI Startup Paperspace
DigitalOcean CEO, Yancey Spruill, confirmed the deal and painted an optimistic picture of the future. He said that the infrastructure and tooling of Paperspace, once integrated with DigitalOcean’s products, will allow customers to more easily test, develop and deploy AI applications.
Spruill expressed his excitement about the deal:
“We’re excited to expand our portfolio tailored to the world’s small- and medium-sized (SMBs) businesses and startups with simplified AI and machine learning offerings.”
This DigitalOcean acquisition of Paperspace thus marks a new chapter in the intersection of AI and cloud computing.
Integrating Paperspace into DigitalOcean Infrastructure
For now, Paperspace will continue to operate as a standalone business unit within DigitalOcean. This strategy ensures that the existing Paperspace customers won’t see immediate changes to their service. Meanwhile, they’ll reap the benefits from DigitalOcean’s robust cloud services, including databases, storage, app hosting, documentation, tutorials, and a comprehensive support system.
The Founding and Growth of Paperspace
Paperspace, co-founded in 2014 by Daniel Kobran and Dillon Erb, initially offered low-cost virtual machines for design, visualization, and gaming in the cloud. As AI entered the mainstream, Paperspace capitalized on the trend, launching a suite of tools designed for developing, training, deploying and hosting AI models in the cloud.
Reflecting on the acquisition, Dillon Erb said:
“We’re thrilled to join forces with DigitalOcean, as we believe there’s no better company to unlock the endless possibilities of AI and machine learning for developers and businesses alike.”
The Future of AI and Machine Learning in the Public Cloud Market
With the combined power of DigitalOcean and Paperspace, Erb sees the potential to challenge other vendors in the public cloud market. Particularly, those on a tight budget can now delve into AI- and machine learning-driven apps like generative media, large language models, recommendation engines, and image classifiers.
This acquisition demonstrates how Big Tech companies like DigitalOcean are striving to stay competitive in the surge for cloud AI and machine learning solutions. Given that AI is now the most significant expenditure for nearly 50% of top executives, it appears that investing in AI and cloud computing will continue to yield significant rewards.
What do you think about this move by DigitalOcean? Do you believe the integration of Paperspace’s AI services will give DigitalOcean a competitive edge in the market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
