Nvidia to invest $8.5b in Intel as chipmaker pushes AI turnaround

Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) have become the essential building blocks of artificial intelligence applications. Photo / Getty Images

Shares in chipmaker Intel have skyrocketed after AI giant Nvidia announced it would invest US$5 billion ($8.5b) in its struggling rival.

The investment represents a significant commitment to Intel’s turnaround efforts. Nvidia joins Japanese investment giant SoftBank and the US Government in backing the once-dominant chipmaker, which has fallen behind in recent years after missing key technology shifts.

“This marks a fusion of two world-class platforms,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “Together, we will expand our ecosystems and lay the foundation for the next era of computing.”

The Trump administration surprised the tech industry last month by taking a 10% equity stake in Intel, recognising the strategic importance of the company that powered the PC and internet revolution with its processors.

It is very rare for the US Government to take shares in private companies, and Trump has signalled he is willing to pursue more such deals that he sees as strategically necessary.

“This is a game-changer for Intel as it now brings the company front and centre into the AI game,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

“Along with the recent US Government investment of 10%, this has been a golden few weeks for Intel after years of pain and frustration for investors.”

Huang insisted that the Trump administration “had no involvement in this partnership at all, though they would have been very supportive, of course”.

The deal was “an incredible investment...it’s going to be fantastic for Intel and fantastic for us”, Huang told reporters.

However, the deal made no mention of Nvidia using Intel’s struggling manufacturing business to build chips, with Huang praising TSMC, the AI giant’s main manufacturer.

Bringing manufacturing of high-tech products back to the United States has been a major priority of the Trump administration.

Intel largely missed the smartphone boom and failed to develop competitive hardware for the AI era, allowing Asian manufacturers TSMC and Samsung to dominate the custom semiconductor market.

Most notably, Intel was blindsided by Nvidia’s rise as the world’s leading AI chip provider.

Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs), originally designed for gaming systems, have become the essential building blocks of artificial intelligence applications, with tech giants scrambling to secure them for their data centres and AI projects.

The partnership announced on Thursday will focus on creating custom data centre and PC products designed for AI applications. Nvidia will purchase Intel common stock at US$23.28 per share, subject to regulatory approval.

Analyst Jack Gold said the deal should not be seen as “a bailout for Intel”, with Nvidia also getting benefits, including the potential for customised Intel processors for its own needs.

After the announcement, Intel’s stock price rose by as much as 26% on Wall Street.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over in March amid layoffs and market challenges, welcomed the investment.

“We appreciate the confidence Jensen and the Nvidia team have placed in us,” he said.

The Malaysia-born tech veteran has acknowledged the difficulty of Intel’s turnaround, particularly as US-China trade tensions complicate the semiconductor landscape.

- Agence France-Presse