Nvidia to Take 5B Stake in Intel, Intel to Make Custom x86 Nvidia Chips (www.servethehome.com)

NVIDIA and Intel announced a strategic partnership in which NVIDIA will buy $5 billion of Intel stock (at $23.28/share, pending regulatory approvals) and Intel will build custom x86 chips that integrate NVIDIA technology for both data center and PC markets. On the data center side Intel will produce “NVIDIA‑custom” x86 CPUs that NVIDIA can integrate into its AI infrastructure (Jensen Huang said the goal includes NVLink integration for rack‑scale NVL designs). For consumer and notebook markets Intel will offer x86 SOCs that incorporate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets, with NVIDIA planning to buy and resell those CPUs inside its systems. This is significant because it gives NVIDIA a clear x86 play alongside its Arm efforts (Grace) and could reshape CPU/GPU supply chains: NVIDIA could use pricing and distribution power to push Intel‑branded x86 into AI servers and PCs, potentially squeezing AMD’s current traction in AI servers. Key open technical questions are how deep the integration will be — simple power/frequency‑optimized SKUs versus tight NVLink/NVLink Fusion style integration makes a big difference for performance and moat. The deal also raises fab and go‑to‑market questions (will Intel Foundry be used, how will chips be sold), and Jensen projects a $30–50B yearly market opportunity if NVIDIA fully integrates and resells these Intel parts.