In a move that’s sending shockwaves through the tech world, Nvidia has announced a significant investment in Intel.
Intel has been struggling in recent times as the focus on CPU rapidly turns to GPU in the current AI era. Having a fast CPU is important in a system, but less important than it once was, given much of the performant software we use today (Gaming, Video editing, 3D rendering), makes better use of the architecture found in GPUs.
LLM training and inference
In the past few years AI has been the darling of technology, with Large Language Models significantly recalibrating what’s possible with computes, just detail your thoughts in plain English and you can create almost anything.
The training and inference associated with Generative AI, aligns with GPUs, rather than CPUs, as such, Nvidia has been on a rocket ship, while intel looks like they’ve had their day in the sun.
The partnership kicks off with Nvidia dropping $5 billion into Intel’s stock, snapping up shares at $23.28 a pop, but why is Nvidia investing in Intel?
The current US Administration has made no secret of the fact they want companies to invest capital in building their businesses in America, rather than outsourcing functions internationally.
This investment from Nvidia, while comparatively small to their balance sheet, does given them input into how things play out in the future.
Nvidia is likely using this investment as a test bed for local (US-based) production of their chips, which would be more expensive, but does de-risk the possibility of Trump imposing prohibitively expensive import tariffs from Taiwan. Currently the bulk of Nvidia’s chips are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC).
Seamless Tech Fusion
Nvidia’s AI wizardry and accelerated computing will mesh with Intel’s battle-tested x86 CPUs via the speedy NVLink interconnect. This tight integration promises to slash bottlenecks in AI processing, letting data flow like never before. It’s a nod to how even rivals can team up when the prize is dominating the next computing wave.
On the data centre front, Intel will craft bespoke x86 CPUs tuned specifically for Nvidia’s AI platforms. These won’t be off-the-shelf chips—they’re engineered for peak performance in cloud-scale environments where every millisecond counts. Aussie cloud providers could soon leverage this for more efficient AI training and inference, potentially trimming those eye-watering energy bills.
Personal Computing Revolution
Shifting to the PC side, Intel’s cooking up x86 system-on-chips (SoCs) that embed Nvidia’s RTX GPU chiplets right into the silicon. Picture laptops and desktops that pack pro-level graphics and AI smarts without the bulk or battery drain.
“AI is powering a new industrial revolution and reinventing every layer of the computing stack — from silicon to systems to software. At the heart of this reinvention is NVIDIA’s CUDA architecture.
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, Nvidia.
This historic collaboration tightly couples NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing stack with Intel’s CPUs and the vast x86 ecosystem — a fusion of two world-class platforms. Together, we will expand our ecosystems and lay the foundation for the next era of computing.”
Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan echoed the optimism, highlighting how their manufacturing muscle will supercharge the combo.
“Intel’s x86 architecture has been foundational to modern computing for decades and we are innovating across our portfolio to enable the workloads of the future.
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO, Intel
Intel’s leading data center and client computing platforms, combined with our process technology, manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities, will complement NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing leadership to enable new breakthroughs for the industry.
We appreciate the confidence Jensen and the NVIDIA team have placed in us with their investment and look forward to the work ahead as we innovate for customers and grow our business.”
