Nvidia has approached Softbank and is considering buying ARM Holdings

[uzzi38]

Will update with articles as they come out (they haven't yet but news is public). For now just a couple of Tweets:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1286003982079533056

https://twitter.com/x/status/1286004990327132161

This is a real significant move for Nvidia, having a huge role in ARM core designs could have major implementations down the line. Most importantly, it secures them a platform and ecosystem down the line.

Oh and I guess Nvidia becomes the defacto standard for GPU IP for mobile instead of Mali. That too.

EDIT: Bloomberg article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ompany-arm-is-said-to-attract-nvidia-interest

 

[Heartbreaker]

Since they left Apple over being unsatisfied with the prospect of designing mobile, laptop and desktop cores when they wanted to do a server design, it doesn't seem too likely to me they will suddenly be satisfied doing the same non-server stuff at Qualcomm.

I expect it was more like they suggested doing a Server chip at Apple and when Apple declined they realized they could leave and get rich... Which they are in the process of doing.

Qualcomm will almost certainly have locked them in with a long staged vesting period, before the important staff get all their money, so could have them for a couple of product generations, and long enough to build up the team around them.

Also Qualcomm was trying to build Server chips before, with the right talent, they could try again.

 

[Ajay]

Well then they shouldn't have sold out in the first place.

Flash those kind of $$$$s in front of people and the decision to pursue one's own dreams tends to drift into the background at first. Also, I'm sure the Nuvia team were sufficiently buttered up by Qualcomm in terms of the 'freedom' that they were supposed to enjoy. Instead, it looks like 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'. With that kind of money in their pockets, I'm with Doug on the likelihood of most of the team walking away when they can.

 

[igor_kavinski]

With that kind of money in their pockets, I'm with Doug on the likelihood of most of the team walking away when they can.

If they document everything internally and write down every word of wisdom from these genius chip designers, it would help their permanent chip designers design something better than they were able to before. If not, well then Qualcomm management is dumb.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Flash those kind of $$$$s in front of people and the decision to pursue one's own dreams tends to drift into the background at first. Also, I'm sure the Nuvia team were sufficiently buttered up by Qualcomm in terms of the 'freedom' that they were supposed to enjoy. Instead, it looks like 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'. With that kind of money in their pockets, I'm with Doug on the likelihood of most of the team walking away when they can.

Eh. You don't pay that kind of money just to give people a short-term out clause. Qualcomm could easily hire out their services to Google and/or MS to compete with Amazon (though it looks like MS is more interested in monopolizing supplies of AMD server CPUs). The market for independent providers of ARM server technology just isn't there right now, and Qualcomm knows it. All eyes are on whether Ampere can stay alive without a buyout.

Or, ya know, NV could just collaborate with Qualcomm on a successor to Grace.

 

[Doug S]

Well then they shouldn't have sold out in the first place.

There's a certain attraction to receiving a payday so big you never have to even think about money again for the rest of your life.

 

[Doug S]

I expect it was more like they suggested doing a Server chip at Apple and when Apple declined they realized they could leave and get rich... Which they are in the process of doing.

Qualcomm will almost certainly have locked them in with a long staged vesting period, before the important staff get all their money, so could have them for a couple of product generations, and long enough to build up the team around them.

Also Qualcomm was trying to build Server chips before, with the right talent, they could try again.

It is extremely rare to have vesting periods longer than three years for principals. Maybe they made the deal extra extra sweet for them, but I'm skeptical.

You're right that Qualcomm has tried to build server chips before, and when I heard the news about the Nuvia buyout I assumed that was part of the thinking. But they have not mentioned servers at all and would have announced the server CPU when they announced the other products. There would be no reason to wait if they were serious about that market, since the ARM server market is just as wide open today as it was when the Nuvia principals left Apple.

 

[jpiniero]

since the ARM server market is just as wide open today as it was when the Nuvia principals left Apple.

Not really. It's going to be real tough to break in now that all the Cloud Guys are doing ARM Servers.

 

[Doug S]

Not really. It's going to be real tough to break in now that all the Cloud Guys are doing ARM Servers.

That was always going to happen, for the same reason they all build their own servers. The only chance for another ARM vendor to have a look in is if they license a faster core than ARM - and that's only if an architectural license allows them to license their ARM core designs to a third party (I have no idea)

Otherwise Big Cloud will be happy to design their own server chips configured exactly how they want and with whatever "AI" blocks they might feel they need etc. supporting exactly the memory technology they want to use, and so forth. If someone was selling CPUs that were 20-30% more efficient per watt (they don't really care about per core or per socket performance) they lose most/all of that advantage paying a middleman for the chip vs ordering their own design directly from the foundry themselves, and not getting everything exactly how they want.

The only market there is or ever was for ARM servers was on premise. It would have been that way years ago for x86 if there was a way for them to license x86 cores or design their own.

 

[jpiniero]

The only market there is or ever was for ARM servers was on premise.

Which is a problem since onprem is dying and a good chunk still uses Windows as a server OS. Which means they are stuck with x86.

 

[Ajay]

If someone was selling CPUs that were 20-30% more efficient per watt (they don't really care about per core or per socket performance) they lose most/all of that advantage paying a middleman for the chip vs ordering their own design directly from the foundry themselves, and not getting everything exactly how they want.

Hmm, really explains AMD's recent claims of large efficiency gains in Zen4 and beyond.

 

[jpiniero]

Getting this thread back on track, Softbank is really effed. By the time nVidia finally gives up it might not be possible to IPO.

 

[Saylick]

Getting this thread back on track, Softbank is really effed. By the time nVidia finally gives up it might not be possible to IPO.

Yeah, should've IPO'ed it last year when tech stocks were flying high. Now? Fuhgettaboutit. At least SoftBank will get >1B in fees if the sale doesn't close.

 

[Saylick]

Looks like it's killed.

Nvidia Quietly Prepares to Abandon $40 Billion Arm Bid

Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

www.bloomberg.com

Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nvidia has told partners that it doesn’t expect the transaction to close, according to one person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. SoftBank, meanwhile, is stepping up preparations for an Arm initial public offering as an alternative to the Nvidia takeover, another person said.

 

[Asterox]

Looks like it's killed.

Nvidia Quietly Prepares to Abandon $40 Billion Arm Bid

Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

www.bloomberg.com

As expected, but in that whole failed process Nvidia had to abandon the mountain of $.

"SoftBank and Arm are entitled to keep $2 billion Nvidia paid at signing, including a $1.25 billion breakup fee, whether the deal goes through or not".

 

[Heartbreaker]

The Breakup fee is almost as much as Qualcomm paid to Acquire Nuvia. Really made the wrong choice.

I wonder if they explored acquiring Nuvia at all.

 

[Thibsie]

The Breakup fee is almost as much as Qualcomm paid to Acquire Nuvia. Really made the wrong choice.

I wonder if they explored acquiring Nuvia at all.

Rumours are that they did.
But I guess idiot-Jensen would not be satisfied with anything else than the whole thing.

 

[Roland00Address]

So what is the odds? (yes I know it is bad odds) that Microsoft, Nvidia, and a consortium of others specifically buys enough publicly traded shares as a buffer against another company doing something horrible with ARM?

Yes I know about perpetual licenses but there is other ways to ruin the market.

 

[igor_kavinski]

As expected, but in that whole failed process Nvidia had to abandon the mountain of $.

"SoftBank and Arm are entitled to keep $2 billion Nvidia paid at signing, including a $1.25 billion breakup fee, whether the deal goes through or not".

Oh brother, here comes more price gouging from Nvidia in the consumer gaming sector, to recoup their lost investment.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Rumours are that they did.
But I guess idiot-Jensen would not be satisfied with anything else than the whole thing.

He bears quite a resemblance to the North Korean dictator

 

[Saylick]

Rumours are that they did.
But I guess idiot-Jensen would not be satisfied with anything else than the whole thing.

If they were smarter, they would've hedged their bet by trying to acquire both ARM and Nuvia and if both were successful you simply fold in Nuvia's design team with ARM's. Simple as that.

 

[Heartbreaker]

If they were smarter, they would've hedged their bet by trying to acquire both ARM and Nuvia and if both were successful you simply fold in Nuvia's design team with ARM's. Simple as that.

Acquiring Nuvia would have made it even less likely they could acquire ARM though, as it would be seen as further concentration of ARM talent/resources.

 

[Doug S]

I don't think anyone is sad about this other than Softbank's owner and Nvidia employees.

 

[Thibsie]

I don't think anyone is sad about this other than Softbank's owner and Nvidia employees.

Probable Nuvia guys. They would have donne great server things rather than consumer QC dumbdown chips.

 

[Doug S]

Probable Nuvia guys. They would have donne great server things rather than consumer QC dumbdown chips.

They're laughing all the way to the bank, and in a couple years will be able to go out on their own again and do server designs if they still want to work - this time without needing to give up any ownership or even a smidgen of control to the VC parasites.

 

[Thibsie]

They're laughing all the way to the bank, and in a couple years will be able to go out on their own again and do server designs if they still want to work - this time without needing to give up any ownership or even a smidgen of control to the VC parasites.

Maybe, maybe....