The semiconductor industry has reached a historic moment. NVIDIA has agreed to acquire 50 billion dollars worth of Intel shares, as part of a broader agreement between the two companies to collaboratively develop "multiple generations" of data center and PC products. This transaction will completely change the semiconductor competition landscape.
NVIDIA will acquire Intel stocks at a price of 23.28 dollars per share, slightly below the previous trading price. According to Reuters, this deal will make NVIDIA one of the largest shareholders of Intel, holding about 4 percent. After the announcement, Intel's stock surged as much as 30 percent in early trading on Thursday.
The two companies will integrate their architectures through NVIDIA's NVLink interface, which supports the transmission of data and control code between CPUs and GPUs. Compared with other standards like PCI Express, NVLink enables faster data transfer between chips, which is crucial for AI applications that require multiple GPUs to work together on large workloads.
In the data center field, Intel will manufacture a new line of x86 CPU products tailored for NVIDIA's AI infrastructure platform, serving enterprise and hyperscale clients.
The cooperation in the consumer PC field is even more remarkable. Intel will build x86 system-on-chips integrating NVIDIA RTX GPU chip modules, which will undoubtedly provide a significant advantage for Intel to compete against AMD's CPU products. The two companies currently refer to these chips as "x86RTX SoCs," claiming they will power a wide range of PC products.
This transaction comes after a difficult period for Intel. Unlike its new partner, Intel has struggled to succeed in the AI chip race. The company has appointed a new CEO, cut thousands of jobs to improve profit margins, and paused manufacturing projects to prioritize financial discipline.
The deal follows another record-breaking quarter for NVIDIA, which has grown into the most profitable semiconductor company in the world and one of the largest companies by market value. At the same time, Intel has had difficulty keeping up with market fluctuations, especially the strong demand for semiconductors driven by AI. Therefore, this collaboration may allow Intel to regain market share from competitors such as AMD.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated in a statement, "Intel's leading data center and client computing platforms, combined with our process technology, manufacturing, and advanced packaging capabilities, will complement NVIDIA's leadership in AI and accelerated computing, bringing new breakthroughs to the industry."
The strategic significance of this transaction goes beyond the financial aspect. For Intel, it is an opportunity for self-redemption, regaining technical advantages through deep collaboration with the leader in the AI field. For NVIDIA, investing in Intel not only provides manufacturing support but also ensures a reliable partner in the CPU field.
From a technical perspective, the integration of the NVLink interface will create unprecedented CPU-GPU collaboration effects. This tight integration will bring revolutionary improvements in processing efficiency for AI workloads, potentially redefining data center architecture standards.
The concept of x86RTX SoCs in the consumer market is a bold innovation. Integrating NVIDIA's graphics processing power directly into Intel's processors, this approach will bring a qualitative leap in PC performance, especially in AI applications and graphics processing.
The market reaction has been very positive, with a significant increase in Intel's stock reflecting investors' optimistic expectations about this partnership. This transaction not only injects much-needed capital into Intel but more importantly, helps it find a new position in the AI era.
When two chip giants decide to join forces rather than compete, and when technical integration replaces independent efforts, the competitive landscape of the entire semiconductor industry is undergoing a fundamental change. This collaboration may mark a significant shift in the chip industry from fragmented competition to ecological cooperation, having a profound impact on other manufacturers such as AMD and Qualcomm. In the new era driven by AI, technological integration may be more strategically valuable than going it alone.
