- By Prateek Levi
- Fri, 19 Sep 2025 03:28 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Nvidia and Intel have struck a $5 billion partnership that could shake up the balance of power in the global chip industry. With Intel still holding close to 80% of the mobile processor market and Nvidia dominating discrete graphics with a 94% share, the two companies together bring formidable scale and influence.
The agreement focuses on jointly designed chips for multiple generations of products, spanning laptops, gaming, education, creators, and data centres. Both companies insist the move complements Intel’s existing roadmap rather than replacing it. Still, industry watchers are keeping a close eye on how this collaboration could alter the competitive landscape for rivals like AMD and Qualcomm.
ALSO READ: iPhone 17 Pro Max Goes On Sale Today: Check Out Price In India, Features, Specs And More
Nvidia’s path into CPUs
Speculation about Nvidia entering the CPU business has swirled for years. While this partnership does not close the door on Nvidia developing its own processors in the future, it provides a direct way into the PC market via Intel’s CPUs. Government-backed support for Intel adds further weight to the collaboration.
As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang put it: "We were delighted to be a shareholder, and we’re delighted to have invested in Intel, and the return on that investment is going to be fantastic, both, of course, in our own business, but also in our equity share of Intel."
Echoes of past experiments
The collaboration draws comparisons to the Kaby Lake-G project, which paired Intel CPUs with AMD GPUs. Despite delivering strong performance, the chip struggled due to lack of driver support. Analysts note that this new partnership is more ambitious, with deeper integration and longer-term commitments.
According to one source, the deal “opens up every socket Intel owns to Nvidia IP,” sparking questions about how much GPU performance Nvidia will bring to the table and which architectures will be selected.
NVLink at the centre
Integration will rely on Nvidia’s NVLink, a technology that has historically been used to connect GPUs in massive data centre clusters. Bringing NVLink into laptops and premium PCs could enable tightly coupled AI, gaming, and workstation systems.
As analyst Pat Moorhead observed: "On PC, a high performance notebook with tightly-coupled Intel+NVIDIA seems strong for AI, gaming and workstation," adding, "While deets are slim, it’s interesting to think about multi-GPU configs (are we back?)."
Long-term roadmap
Development is already underway on products spanning several generations, with both firms targeting high-end consumer and enterprise devices. A source close to Intel noted that discussions had started under former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, saying the company was exploring outside funding avenues.
Confirming the timeline, Huang revealed: "Huang confirmed that talks began a year ago."
With two of the biggest names in chips working together, the industry is bracing for what could be a transformative shift in laptops, data centres, and beyond.