Intel increases footprint in Israel with acquisition of Granulate

Intel Corporation announced today that it has acquired Israel’s Granulate Cloud Solutions. 

“Together with Intel, we believe we can help customers achieve meaningful cost reductions and five times the throughput across workloads,” said Granulate CEO Asaf Ezra in a press release. 

Why it matters: Granulate is a Tel Aviv-based company that specializes in developing cloud computing software for organizations. Intel is based in Silicon Valley and is one of the biggest computer chip manufacturers in the world. 

Intel has a large presence in Israel. In February, Intel acquired the Israeli circuit manufacturer Tower Semiconductor for around $5.4 billion. Intel began operations in Israel back in 1974 and has three facilities in the country. 

Intel’s ties to Israel have been criticized by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement that seeks a variety of economic and cultural boycotts of Israel. Intel has avoided being specifically boycotted by the movement in recent years because of its near-monopoly status in its field. 

Intel did not say how much they are purchasing Granulate for. The Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported earlier this month that Intel was considering buying the company for $650 million. 

Intel’s stock had fallen around 2% by 12:00 pm ET. 

What’s next: The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, which will run from April through June. Granulate’s approximately 120 employees will then be integrated into Intel, according to the press release.