Topline
Nvidia announced it will acquire $5 billion worth of chipmaking rival Intel’s shares and the two companies will collaborate to develop custom data center and personal computer products, in a move that comes less than a month after the U.S. government gained a 10% stake in Intel.
Nvidia will invest $5 billion in Intel.
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Key Facts
In a statement, Nvidia said the companies will work together to combine Nvidia’s advanced AI and computer chips with Intel’s x86 CPU architecture, which powers most desktops, servers and laptops around the world.
As part of the deal, Intel will build new consumer chips that integrate its x86 CPUs with Nvidia’s RTX GPU chips and this will be used to power “a wide range of PCs.”
Intel will also make a custom x86 CPU for use in datacenters that Nvidia will integrate into its AI machines and sell to its customers.
As part of the deal, Nvidia will purchase around $5 billion worth of Intel’s common stock, at $23.28 per share—lower than Intel’s closing price of $24.90 on Wednesday—granting it a 4% stake in the struggling chipmaker.
The two companies will also work to integrate NVIDIA’s NVLink—which allows the AI giant to connect multiple GPUs together—with Intel’s chips.
How Have The Markets Reacted?
In premarket trading early on Thursday, Nvidia’s shares rose 2.95% to $175.30, while Intel’s shares surged nearly 29% to $32.11. Rival AMD’s shares are down around 4%, falling to $152.87, as the deal likely dents a critical moat the chipmaker had over Nvidia. Only AMD and Intel are licensed to manufacture x86 chips, however, this deal allows Nvidia’s powerful GPUs—which are used to power AI applications and graphically intensive tasks—to be integrated with Intel’s x86 CPUs.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.