The combination brings together NVIDIA’s AI computing platform with Arm’s vast ecosystem in a move that looks to address artificial intelligence, accelerate innovation and allow the two companies to expand into larger, high-growth markets. SoftBank is expected to retain a 10 per cent stake in NVIDIA.
“AI is the most powerful technology force of our time and has launched a new wave of computing,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “In the years ahead, trillions of computers running AI will create a new internet-of-things that is thousands of times larger than today’s internet-of-people. Our combination will create a company fabulously positioned for the age of AI.
“Uniting NVIDIA’s AI computing capabilities with the vast ecosystem of Arm’s CPU, we can advance computing from the cloud, smartphones, PCs, self-driving cars and robotics, to edge IoT, and expand AI computing to every corner of the globe. This combination has tremendous benefits for both companies, our customers, and the industry. For Arm’s ecosystem, the combination will turbocharge Arm’s R&D capacity and expand its IP portfolio with NVIDIA’s world-leading GPU and AI technology."
According to Huang Arm will remain headquartered in Cambridge and he is promising to turn Arm Cambridge into a world-class technology centre.
Arm specialises in microprocessors and has developed a dominant position in the global smartphone market but its technology is also found in sensors, smart devices and cloud services.
Nvidia is best known for graphics cards that are used in the video game industry.
Despite reassurances from Nvidia , the company is likely to face tough conditions when it comes to protecting jobs and the status of Arm’s headquarters in Cambridge as part of the deal.
Geoff Blaber, vice president of research for the Americas with CCS Insights, said the deal “will rightly face huge opposition” from Arm’s customers. “An acquisition by Nvidia would be detrimental to Arm and its ecosystem,” according to Blaber. “Independence is critical to the ongoing success of Arm and once that is compromised, its value will start to erode.”
At present Arm licenses its technology to anyone that wants to buy it and its customers include the likes of Apple, Samsung and Qualcomm,
Speaking to the BBC Arm co-founder Hermann Hauser described the deal as an “absolute disaster” and said it would destroy the company’s business model and lead to job losses at its Cambridge headquarters and elsewhere in the UK.
