Nvidia will invest $5 billion in Intel, co-develop new server and PC chips

"In a major collaboration that would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago, Nvidia announced today that it was buying a total of $5 billion in Intel stock, giving Intel's competitor ownership of roughly 4 percent of the company. In addition to the investment, the two companies said that they would be co-developing "multiple generations of custom data center and PC products.""

""The companies will focus on seamlessly connecting NVIDIA and Intel architectures using NVIDIA NVLink," reads Nvidia's press release, "integrating the strengths of NVIDIA's AI and accelerated computing with Intel's leading CPU technologies and x86 ecosystem to deliver cutting-edge solutions for customers." Rather than combining the two companies' technologies, the data center chips will apparently be custom x86 chips that Intel builds to Nvidia's specifications. Nvidia will "integrate [the CPUs] into its AI infrastructure platforms and offer [them] to the market.""

"On the consumer side, Intel plans to build x86 SoCs that integrate both Intel CPUs and Nvidia RTX GPU chiplets-Intel's current products use graphics chiplets based on its own Arc products. More tightly integrated chips could make for smaller gaming laptops, and could give Nvidia a way to get into handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck or ROG Xbox Ally."

Nvidia is purchasing $5 billion of Intel stock, acquiring roughly a four percent ownership stake. The companies will co-develop multiple generations of custom data center and PC products. They will focus on connecting NVIDIA and Intel architectures using NVIDIA NVLink and integrating NVIDIA's AI and accelerated computing with Intel's CPU technologies and the x86 ecosystem. Data center chips will be custom x86 processors that Intel builds to Nvidia specifications, which Nvidia will integrate into its AI infrastructure platforms and offer commercially. Intel will build x86 SoCs that combine Intel CPUs with Nvidia RTX GPU chiplets for consumer devices. The collaboration could enable smaller gaming laptops and entry into handheld gaming PCs, and new designs will take years to reach mass production.

Read at Ars Technica