Amazon to buy Israeli start-up chipmaker

US tech giant Amazon has agreed to buy Israeli chipmaker Annapurna Labs for its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services.

An AWS spokeswoman declined to discuss the terms of the deal, but it has been reported to be valued at up to US$370 million (A$462 million). 

Annapurna Labs is owned by businessman Avigdor Willenz alongside other investors including chip company ARM and venture capital firm Walden International.

The proposal includes an agreement by Amazon to open a research and development centre in Israel, according to Israeli paper Calcalist.

The Israeli start-up, which Calcalist said has raised several tens of millions of dollars in private funding, was not reachable for comment.

A spokesperson for Amazon Australia confirmed the acquisition but refused to provide further information.