Intel Stock Soars As NVIDIA Invests $5B, Partners On AI & PC Chip Development

For decades, Intel was the face of Silicon Valley, powering everything from home computers to massive data centers. However, as the spotlight shifted to artificial intelligence (AI), competitors raced ahead, and Intel found itself playing catch-up.

While NVIDIA was building CUDA GPUs, the backbone of today’s AI boom, Intel lagged. In recent weeks, the U.S. government took a 10% stake to help stabilize the chipmaker, and now, after years of stalled turnarounds and fresh pressure from Washington, Intel is finding unexpected support from one of its biggest competitors: NVIDIA.

NVIDIA has announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, giving it about a 4% stake once new shares are issued. The deal is about more than just money as the two companies plan to team up on several generations of data center and PC products, combining NVIDIA’s expertise in AI and accelerated computing with Intel’s well-established x86 CPU ecosystem.

The technologies of both companies will be integrated through NVIDIA’s NVLink, aimed at delivering faster, more efficient chips for hyperscale, enterprise and consumer markets. The integration through NVLink allows Intel and NVIDIA chips to communicate at higher speeds than before, a critical factor for AI servers where multiple processors must work together efficiently to handle massive datasets.

For data centers, Intel will design custom x86 CPUs for NVIDIA’s AI platforms and build PC chips that combine its processors with NVIDIA RTX graphics, including new x86 system-on-chips (SoCs) that integrate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets to power a wide range of PCs demanding world-class CPU and GPU integration.


On announcing the deal, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said, “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.”

Continuing on that note, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted the company’s long-standing role in computing and how the partnership will drive future innovation. Lip-Bu said from Intel’s perspective, “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.”

“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,” he continued.

With this deal, Intel’s stock jumped 23%, the highest in 38 years, and NVIDIA’s nearly 4%, with analysts saying the deal could shake up the chip industry and put pressure on rivals like AMD and especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which currently manufactures NVIDIA’s flagship processors.

After struggling to keep up for the last few years, this partnership could be the boost Intel needs to regain its footing in the AI era.

It will be interesting to see Intel, a leader in computer CPUs, and NVIDIA, excelling at components that boost AI performance, combining their strengths to make faster and smarter computers.

Could Intel turn the tables by partnering with a competitor like NVIDIA that once left Intel behind? How will this deal benefit NVIDIA?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below!