NetApp completes acquisition of PEAK:AIO for AI storage

Author: Joe Peck

NetApp, a US enterprise data storage and cloud data services company, has completed its acquisition of PEAK:AIO, a UK-based developer of metadata architecture and high-performance parallel file systems, to advance its storage capabilities for large-scale AI infrastructure.

The acquisition brings PEAK:AIO’s metadata services and parallel namespace technology into NetApp’s ONTAP-based data architecture. The companies aim to support high-concurrency workloads and large-scale file systems for AI cloud providers and GPU-as-a-service operators.

The technology is intended to keep GPU resources supplied with data whilst reducing storage bottlenecks. NetApp says combining the two platforms will provide a route to storage infrastructure with greater scalability, at the same time as retaining enterprise data management, security, and resilience capabilities.

PEAK:AIO’s technology was developed for data-intensive computing, with research institutions including Los Alamos National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University identified as examples of its target environments.

NetApp says the acquisition will support the development of new capabilities, including NetApp Novus, its planned storage platform for AI workloads. The company expects the combined technology to provide a path towards zettabyte-scale file systems, supporting increasing numbers of files and parallel access across large AI environments.

Developing storage for large-scale AI workloads

George Kurian, CEO at NetApp, comments, “AI infrastructure is reaching unprecedented scale, demanding a new approach to storage built from the ground up.

“By combining PEAK:AIO’s expertise in metadata services and parallel namespace innovation with the proven scale, data management capabilities, and enterprise-grade services of the NetApp Platform, we are leapfrogging the market as we deliver our next-generation, zettabyte-scale architecture to support the growth of AI clouds and GPU-as-a-service providers.”

Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp, adds, “The AI factory is only as productive as its data pipeline. By combining NetApp’s unified storage with PEAK:AIO’s metadata architecture, we separate metadata from data so performance scales out with concurrency, and we do it with open standards rather than proprietary clients.

“Customers can run more AI workloads, on their existing infrastructure, with the security, resilience, and simplicity of enterprise data management.”

Mark Klarzynski, CTO and founder of PEAK:AIO, says, “NetApp and PEAK:AIO were built around the shared conviction that the AI era needs data infrastructure designed to scale to extraordinary levels.

“With the acquisition by NetApp, we can bring our innovation together with the reach, expertise, and trusted customer relationships of a global data infrastructure leader. Together, we are well positioned to help define what comes next and deliver technology that makes managing data for the AI era more practical, efficient, and accessible.”