Nvidia invests $5 billion in Intel to develop AI infrastructure

Nvidia, the world's leading chipmaker, announced on Thursday that it's investing $5 billion (€4.23bn) in Intel and it will collaborate with the struggling semiconductor company on products.

The two firms will team up to work on custom data centres that form the backbone of artificial intelligence infrastructure, as well as personal computer products, Nvidia said in a press release.

Nvidia said it will spend $5bn to buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share. The investment is subject to regulatory approvals.

"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," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said.

"Together, we will expand our ecosystems and lay the foundation for the next era of computing."

The two companies said they will work on “seamlessly connecting” their architectures.

For data centres, Intel will make custom chips that Nvidia will use in its AI infrastructure platforms. For PC products, Intel will build chips that integrate Nvidia technology.

The agreement provides a lifeline for Intel, a Silicon Valley pioneer that enjoyed decades of growth as its processors powered the personal computer boom. The company fell into a slump after missing the shift to the mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhone's 2007 debut.

Intel fell even further behind in recent years amid the artificial intelligence boom that has propelled Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company.

In premarket trading, Intel shares soared 30%, while Nvidia shares rose almost 3%.