NVIDIA Reportedly Near Deal To Buy Arm For $40+ Billion Dollars

Breaking this weekend is word that NVIDIA and Arm are reportedly close to a deal in which the graphics giant would be acquiring the UK-based chip designer from SoftBank in a deal worth $40 billion USD or more.

The likes of the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting this Saturday that the deal between NVIDIA and Arm could be near with a possible announcement as soon as next week.

A NVIDIA + Arm marriage has been rumored for weeks while a deal consisting of cash and stock could come as soon as next week. This comes after SoftBank acquired Arm just four years ago for $32 billion.

It will be quite interesting to see what comes of such a courtship. For many not fond of NVIDIA acquiring Arm, it could be a big boost for the likes of RISC-V. While many will argue the Arm Linux support would be adversely impacted given NVIDIA being known for their proprietary drivers, this is actually quite unlikely -- NVIDIA engages quite well with open-source kernel support where it makes sense with case in point being on the Tegra front where they do upstream their drivers ultimately and even do ensure decent Tegra Nouveau support given customer interest/requirements.

UPDATE - 13 September: It's official that NVIDIA will acquire Arm.