A $5B Lifeline or Market Madness?
Now here’s something I didn’t think I’d write: Nvidia just poured $5 billion into Intel. Jensen Huang, king of AI, wrote a check to the company everyone had basically written off as yesterday’s news. The result? Intel’s stock spiked almost 30% in a single day, adding over $30 billion in market cap, while Nvidia cruised higher too – though nowhere near as much. Apparently, Intel did something right: just a few weeks ago the government bought into the company, now it’s the AI leader. Intriguing.
The details: Nvidia is buying about a 4% stake in Intel at $23.28/share, instantly becoming one of the company’s biggest shareholders. The two giants plan to co-develop products – imagine CPUs + Nvidia GPUs tightly linked together, new system-on-chips, advanced interconnects and the whole AI data center. Nvidia is basically complementing its chip food chain. Jensen Huang is creating a Superverse here right now, with Intel as a means to an end. A pawn in Nvidia’s game. Although, Intel can’t complain, since Jensen Huang is essentially throwing a lifeline to the struggling foundry. On paper, this makes sense: Nvidia wants deeper control of the stack, Intel desperately needs a story that isn’t “we’re behind TSMC again.” Because frankly, the only selling point for Intel compared to competitors is its “Made in U.S.A.” label.
Here’s the thing though: I’m not sure if this is Intel’s rebirth or just Nvidia being clever. Intel’s foundry business still hasn’t proven itself. Advanced nodes? Still lagging. Manufacturing yields? Still in question. Yes, this partnership gives them credibility and maybe some volume, but it doesn’t erase a decade of missteps overnight. At the same time, Nvidia looks like a genius here – for a relatively small investment (for them), they bought influence over a giant that still matters. In my opinion, this looks like a win for Nvidia and a neutral for Intel, which they couldn’t refuse.
Personally, I think this deal says more about the market than about Intel. A 20% spike for a mega-cap because of one partnership? That just reinforces how the market perceives Intel (and Nvidia). Confidence in the foundry is largely gone, and people try to cling to any positive news story they can find.
Still, I’ve got to hand it to Nvidia. They’re not just selling chips, they’re shaping the entire industry. And for Intel, this is at least a shot at redemption. I don’t own Intel, I think they’ve lost their edge a long time ago, I don’t like the strategy or management’s surrender to Trump – but I’ll definitely keep watching, you never know. Because if they can execute with Nvidia at their side, this might actually be the start of a comeback. If not? Well, then we’ll remember this as the day Jensen Huang pulled off another great move to solidify his legacy.
