NVIDIA to Acquire Arm for $40 Billion

Above: Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA

A major development in the semiconductor’s industry: NVIDIA announced a definitive agreement with SoftBank under which NVIDIA will acquire Arm Limited from SBG fo a total amount of approximately $40 billion. NVIDIA will pay $21.5 billion in common stock and $12 billion in cash. Additionally, SoftBank may receive up to $5 billion in cash or common stock, subject to satisfaction of specific financial performance targets by Arm.

NVIDIA will also issue $1.5 billion in equity to Arm employees. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, including in U.K., China, the European Union and the United States. Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in approximately 18 months. NVIDIA said it is committed to the UK: Today 3,000 employees out of ARM’s global 6,500 strong workforce are located in the UK.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA expressed a commitment to Britain: “Arm will remain headquartered in Cambridge. We will build a world-class AI research facility and a state-of-the-art AI supercomputer, powered by Arm CPUs. Arm Cambridge will be a world-class technology center. AI is the most powerful technology force of our time and has launched a new wave of computing. Our combination will create a company fabulously positioned for the age of AI.”

NVIDIA plans to bring its intellectual property to Arm’s ecosystem, to offer data center customers an alternative to legacy CPU. As part of NVIDIA, Arm will continue to operate its open-licensing model while maintaining the global customer neutrality that has been foundational to its success.