NetApp, the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, has acquired DataPelago, a California-based AI data infrastructure company, to integrate GPU-accelerated data processing directly into the storage layer. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. This strategic move enables enterprises to discover, govern, and activate data for AI and analytics at the source without moving it to external compute clusters. By embedding intelligence at the infrastructure layer, NetApp aims to eliminate the data processing bottlenecks that hinder AI deployment.

DataPelago will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of NetApp. The acquisition marks a foundational expansion of NetApp's portfolio, aligning GPU-accelerated data processing with the storage layer. With this acquisition, NetApp establishes itself as the company that makes zero-copy activation of enterprise data for AI real.

Strategic Expansion and Technology Integration

DataPelago's core technology, Nucleus, is a universal data processing engine that uses heterogeneous accelerated computing across CPUs and GPUs. This approach processes data where it resides, reducing infrastructure costs by up to 80% and delivering performance up to 10 times faster than conventional approaches. The technology eliminates the need to copy data from operational systems to AI systems, addressing the primary bottleneck in enterprise AI deployment. The integration of Nucleus into NetApp's infrastructure is designed to provide customers with the agility to process data with zero-copy activation, ensuring that computing resources are utilized efficiently rather than sitting idle.

Executive Perspectives on the Acquisition

George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer at NetApp, emphasized the necessity of intelligent data infrastructure to harness the potential of AI models and chips. He stated that the acquisition extends NetApp's ability to help customers understand and process data with the required agility. Rajan Goyal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DataPelago, highlighted the opportunity to combine breakthrough processing technology with NetApp's data infrastructure portfolio to simplify and accelerate AI deployment at scale.

Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp, described the Nucleus engine as bringing software-defined acceleration directly to the storage layer. He noted that NetApp manages more enterprise data across more environments than any other company, and the next phase of AI will be determined by the ability to make that data work at the source.

Performance and Efficiency Metrics

The acquisition follows recent partnerships by NetApp with Cisco, Google Cloud, Red Hat, and SK Telecom. DataPelago's technology is currently delivering value at large enterprises across multiple industries by accelerating demanding workloads and improving infrastructure efficiency.

NetApp and Oracle announced a new fully managed storage service that brings enterprise-grade NetApp storage natively to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The service aims to simplify the migration and management of critical AI and enterprise workloads for organizations leveraging the cloud. Currently in preview with select customers, the integration introduces NetApp ONTAP data management capabilities directly within the OCI environment.

OCI Storage with NetApp is designed as a fully managed, first-party, OCI-native storage service. It allows enterprises to migrate, run, protect, and modernize various workloads, including databases, enterprise applications, and virtualized environments. The service also supports electronic design automation (EDA), high-performance computing, regulated applications, and AI data pipelines while maintaining familiar storage operations.

The collaboration addresses the need for secure, reliable, and performant storage solutions within the OCI ecosystem. By embedding NetApp's data management features natively, the service seeks to reduce complexity for enterprises moving critical workloads to the cloud. The preview phase is currently accessible to select customers ahead of a broader rollout.