How Nvidia’s $5B Intel stake could bolster Intel’s next-gen chipmaking

Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) $5 billion investment in Intel (INTC.O) may give the struggling chipmaker crucial momentum for its next-generation manufacturing efforts, even though Nvidia has not committed to using Intel’s factories for its own chips, analysts said.

The deal, announced Thursday, gives Nvidia a roughly 4% stake in Intel and creates a partnership to develop “multiple generations” of joint products. These products will link Intel’s central processors with Nvidia’s AI and graphics chips via NVLink, Nvidia’s high-speed proprietary interconnect.

Analysts say the collaboration could indirectly strengthen Intel’s 14A manufacturing process, set for 2027, which the company has warned may not move forward without sufficient customer demand. By tying its CPUs to Nvidia’s flagship products in ways unmatched by rivals, Intel could secure the production volumes needed to justify its costly investments.

“Any relationship with Nvidia at this point, while not explicitly talking about the foundry services, should be seen as a possible extension of the partnership in the future,” said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates.

Under the agreement, Intel Foundry will supply CPUs for the joint products and package Nvidia chips for some of them. Engineers from both firms will collaborate to translate Nvidia’s designs into physical chips manufactured by Intel. This is notable given both companies often rely on Taiwan’s TSMC (2330.TW) for production.

“If these joint products prove popular, it gives me a higher degree of confidence that 14A continues, at which point Intel should have very good returns,” said Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies.

For Nvidia, the deal offers better access to government and enterprise customers that run decades of Intel-compatible software. The main loser could be Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), which competes directly with both companies in CPUs and GPUs. “Having two major competitors combining their efforts is not exactly a positive outcome for AMD,” Gold noted.