AMD Continues Shopping Spree Through Toronto's Chip Startup Aisle

AMD has agreed to acquire Toronto-based Taalas, a startup that hardwires AI models directly onto custom silicon for dramatically faster, cheaper inference. Founded in 2023 by former AMD and Tenstorrent veterans, Taalas raised $219 million and claimed it could produce chips 1000x more efficient than software counterparts, with single chips outperforming small GPU data centres. This marks AMD's second acquisition of a Canadian AI chip firm in just over a year, following its 2025 deal for Untether AI's team—part of a broader pattern of US giants absorbing Toronto's most promising chip startups.