After several months of looking to spin off its ARM business line, SoftBank Group Corp (SBG) now has a buyer in semiconductor giant Nvidia, which will purchase the microcontroller (MCU) and microprocessor (MPU) wing for $40 billion.
Previously, SBG looked to spin off parts of ARM’s internet of things (IoT) branch into SBG in July, however, it changed its mind and will sell ARM in its entirety to Nvidia. The acquisition will combine Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform with ARM’s MCU/MPU platform with the goal to expand into large, high-growth markets such as the edge IoT, smartphones, PCs, self-driving cars and robotics and cloud computing.
As part of the deal, SoftBank will gain an ownership stake in Nvidia, which is expected to be under 10%.
“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 a statement. “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.”
Open licensing to continue
Nvidia said it will continue to operate ARM’s open-licensing model and maintain a global customer neutrality. To date, 180 billion chips have been shipped by ARM licensees. Nvidia will also retain the name and brand of ARM.
Nvidia said the deal will increase ARM’s research and development capacity and expand its IP portfolio with its GPU and AI technology. ARM will remain in Cambridge, U.K., and Nvidia said it will build an AI research facility for healthcare, life sciences, robotics, self-driving cars and other fields.
Additionally, Nvidia will invest in an ARM-powered AI supercomputer training facility for developers and a startup incubator.
