Juniper Networks (JNPR) -) shares soared Tuesday amid reports that the IT networking products maker is in takeover talks with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE ) -)as it looks to accelerate its AI product rollout.
The Wall Street Journal reported that HPE, which was spun out from Hewlett Packard in 2015, is in advanced talks to buy the Sunnyvale, California-based tech group for around $13 billion as it looks to enhance its small-business cloud offerings with AI technologies.
Mist AI, Junipers' developing division, leverages large-language models across its network equipment, and recently embedded the unit into its network access control platform.
HPE, meanwhile, told investors last year that it wanted to expand the launch of a new cloud service that uses AI technologies similar to Microsoft-backed (MSFT) -) ChatGPT.
The group also unveiled a partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) -) in November aimed at building an enterprise computing solution for generative AI.
“Together, HPE and Nvidia are in a unique position to deliver a comprehensive AI-native solution that will dramatically ease the journey to develop and deploy AI models with a portfolio of preconfigured solutions,” HPE Chief Executive Antonio Neri said at the time.
“The strategic collaboration between HPE and Nvidia will dramatically reduce barriers for customers looking to transform their businesses with AI.”
Juniper Networks shares were marked 21.6% higher in early Tuesday trading to change hands at $36.73 each, a move that would peg its market value at around $11.75 billion.
HPE shares, meanwhile, slumped 8.4% to $16.23 each, a move that would tip the stock into negative territory for the past six months.
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