Khronikos:

Nvidia is not going to be left behind regardless lol. The GPU market has very little to do with the CPU market overall. APUs for the consoles are also sold at lower profit margins. They don't "need" to do anything of the sort atm to maintain their GPU leads. Their brand is incredibly strong. Anything can change obviously, but as of now Nvidia is still a top choice for GPU for many reasons too numerous to list.

Nvidia would never get into the console market again. First of all both companies do not want to touch NVidia ever again after 360 & PS3 debacles. Also MS will need x86 APU for the DXR/DX12-13 to build it's ecosystem across PC & console. It doesn't want to get it splintered again with different APIs and porting.

Nvidia wants ARM and will get it. arm architecture is a lot better than x64 or x86 ARM is made in such a way multi cpu systems can functions easy on the other hand this crap we use now limits us with serial processing pipe line processing ARM= Advanced RISC Machine which means that it uses RISC Arm's ability to share workloads across high- and low-performance CPU cores is a boon for energy efficiency. If they do get ARM be a new cpu player in town.

ARM and x86 are ISAs not architectures. And internally all modern x86 CPUs use RISC microcode implementation since 2 and a half decades (intel P6?). They starting using RISC microcode inside 6 years before GPUs did (with Shader Model 1.4, before they used CISC for shaders). Using x86 as ISA is a big-win for Intel, AMD & co, it allows running the binaries without almost no compatibility issues (some very minor issues may apply but are left to compilers and OS kernel-driver teams), there are no performance penalties on the x86 to micro-code translations and that allows custom optimization on every architecture without breaking things.

Nvidia already has an ARM cpu which is their own core design (Project Denver), so I don't expect anything to change from that aspect. I can see Nvidia expanding on their own capability to create systems using their own GPU's and CPU's, much like Apple plans to do. From the software angle Cuda is already available for use on ARM for AI and HPC applications. During the 4 year period SoftBank owned ARMS revenues rose from 1.2 billion to 1.9 billion, so it should not be too much of a stretch for Nvidia to buy ARMS.

So why does Nvidia want ARM so bad ? for them to get into the phone market ? They will be in everything.

Martin5000:

So why does Nvidia want ARM so bad ? for them to get into the phone market ? They will be in everything.

Servers It essentially fast tracts them to compete with AMD/Intel in super computing contracts they are currently losing out on. They have some experience with ARM in Denver but it's a farcry from what's required in the server CPU space. ARM has a ton of really good engineering talent and already has a functioning design/engineer team in place. It's way faster to just buy it then build your own.

H83:

Europe should block any attempt of purchase from any company from the US or from China. Unfortunetly this type of thinking is too much for the "geniuses" in Brussels that are more interested in wasting time with superflous stuff...

I very much doubt that something as basic as this flies over the heads of EU overlords. Why would EU want to bet their houses during schizo moment US/China are going through. Let them deal with it.

Martin5000:

So why does Nvidia want ARM so bad ? for them to get into the phone market ? They will be in everything.

My gut feeling is both for servers and small robots for streamlining industry. I also wonder if this is a move to control ARM so that it doesn't undercut its GPU server market where they can artificially maintain prices. Recently lots of custom silicon coming out claiming to deliver similar AI performance to Nvidia GPU setup at significantly less money, like the new A64FX

I think Nvidia waited a bit too long tbh. I said years ago they should've bought them. The benefit for me is that at some point in the near future we're going to see Win10 Arm apps and when the big corps get on-board it's going to change the way I'm able to use Win10 forever. Download options for x86, OSX and ARM is not just a possibility, it's going to become reality.

Fediuld:

Nvidia can develop an MCM APU using ARM as we speak nothing stopping it. Intel, AMD and several others are making ARM CPUs as we speak for various uses from phones to laptops to servers. As for Nvidia, is the worst company with a horrible track record on buying IPs and tech companies. Lets not forget bought 3dfx just to kill the much better competitor, while bought Ageia to kill independent physX cards also removing support of the Ageia cards pretty quickly to the annoyance of their owners. Lets not forget this. Nvidia is been worse anti-consumer company than Intel and has the track record to prove so.

Not quite... 3DFX was dead 'because' of Nvidia and it's aggressive product cycle... Nvidia came in a bought up the IP after it was dead as a dodo... 😀 *and regarding 'Ageia' their secret sauce was more a 'formula/calculation' hence nvidia bundled it 'into' their 'software' 'to the delight' of its customers -- back then, did we really need another 'physical' component in a PC? CPU, GPU, North-bridge, South-Bridge, Soundblaster Card, Physx???

Fediuld:

Nvidia would never get into the console market again. First of all both companies do not want to touch NVidia ever again after 360 & PS3 debacles. Also MS will need x86 APU for the DXR/DX12-13 to build it's ecosystem across PC & console. It doesn't want to get it splintered again with different APIs and porting.

I wouldn't be so sure..., from my recollection Microsoft still own the 'golden share' of Nvidia.. which boils down to "If anybody tries to buy Nvidia, Microsoft just need to match the bid to take ownership" I like to think of it as an insurance policy for MS against Intel and it's old x86 'strongarm tactics'.... or going back to the MS and IBM era.., what's more important Hardware or Software? If Hardware, MS takes ownership of nvidia and is 'king of the hill' especially if nvidia own ARM IP at the time. *NOTE: the new Microsoft Surface Pro x (which is ARM based) already emulates 32-bit x86 for software... how hard it it for MS to give AMD a few dollars for the license to x86-64 that they created?

Stormyandcold:

I think Nvidia waited a bit too long tbh. I said years ago they should've bought them. The benefit for me is that at some point in the near future we're going to see Win10 Arm apps and when the big corps get on-board it's going to change the way I'm able to use Win10 forever. Download options for x86, OSX and ARM is not just a possibility, it's going to become reality.

Surface Pro X running on ARM already runs 32-bit x86 software... native ARM apps would be better but 'people and corporations' are set in their ways, so we need little hops towards utopia.. 😀

The question now is whether this will be good for ARM or the opportunity for risc-v to grow.

Except that RISC-V is not compatible with ARM ISAs, it's a different ISA

Yes its different, but it is open and anyone can use it. It would be a very important change like switching in windows from x86 to arm. For mobiles it would also be a major jump but from then on we would be using an open cpu architecture.

UK is still in EU and there is still no deal at all so, or they will wait UK will leave EU, or they will have to deal with EU.

Martin5000:

So why does Nvidia want ARM so bad ? They will be in everything.

Denial:

Servers

This. They'll be able to supply a big part of supercomputers then.

Stefem:

o_O Yea, they clearly killed innovation and creativity... proof is that AMD is 2 years ahead in technology and they have the performance leadership 🙄 NVIDIA in the meantime is one of the main RISC-V supporter and use it on any GPU from Volta and up, they offer RT and AI acceleration in their product and support the latest DX and Vulkan API since 2018, not to mention their GPU are even slightly more power efficient even if they are made on a slightly improved 16nm process while the competition have a full node advantage with 7nm... Yea, I totally agree, it really look a company that kill innovation and creativity...

ARM isn't open source, RISC-V is. ARM going under Nvidia's control is like to be more tightly controlled than ARM simply licensing it to everyone, and that probably still will be less than RISC-V ISA's being available as open source. Thus, ARM being under tight control will probably stifle innovation using this tech. Looking at Nvidia's business tactics, they are aggressive in trying to control and manage their market, and make it difficult for contenders to enter with a variety of proprietary layers and cost barriers. I imagine they would do the same with ARM, particularly as one of Softbank's rumoured reasons for selling may be related to profit from ARM - estimated 1.9 Billion USD last financial year up from 1.2 Billion in 2016, while Nvidia have tripled theirs in the same time frame. Not sure what AMD has to do with your or this argument.

Why Nvidia’s potential acquisition of ARM would be such a game-changer July 31, 2020

With more than 130 billion processors shipped as of 2019, ownership of ARM could help Nvidia exert its influence not only on products like smartphones, tablets, wearables, and computers, but also help to shape entire industries ranging from networking devices, servers, and data centers to embedded markets spanning smart cars, robotics, and IoT (internet of things). ... https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/arm-business-model-610x610.jpg Unlike Nvidia, AMD, and Intel, ARM doesn’t sell a packaged processor. Instead, the company operates on what it calls a “flexible licensing model.” Each licensee can license the processor design and have the freedom to customize the architecture to fit its own specifications. Typically, licensees pay an up-front fee to license the architecture, and ARM also earns revenue through on-going royalty payments. It seems likely that this model would survive under Nvidia or any other possible buyer’s ownership. .... The “flexible licensing model” is also complementary to Nvidia’s own graphics business. Having already been a licensee of ARM with its Tegra processors (found on products such as Nvidia’s Shield TV streaming box and the now-defunct Microsoft Surface RT), more licensing opportunities could open up if Nvidia acquires ARM. ARM currently licenses its Mali graphics core on its CPU architecture, but licensees — like Apple, MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Samsung — have the option of using their own custom integrated GPU design. Nvidia could either replace the Mali’s graphics core and license out its integrated GeForce GPU in a packaged solution for licensees, or it could continue to offer the Mali design and reserve the GeForce cores for its own custom Tegra processors. ... At present, most PCs are locked into the x86 architecture used by Intel and AMD. However, the future outlook is bright for ARM. Despite a failed foray into ARM PCs with the Surface RT, Microsoft is making headwinds with its second effort with partner Qualcomm and its ARM-based Snapdragon 8cx processor. Promising better battery life, consistent performance, and thin and light designs, notebooks and convertibles running on the Always Connected PC platform offer many advantages over its Intel rival, including mobile connectivity and all-day computing power. Microsoft’s Surface Pro X tablet is also based on a semi-custom ARM processor co-developed with Qualcomm, though we can see designs from Samsung, Lenovo, and others. ... Nvidia also isn’t the first large company to be interested in acquiring ARM. Apple was actually originally rumored to be in talks with ARM earlier this year. It fell through, reportedly because a tie-up wouldn’t fit Apple’s business ambitions. Softbank last purchased ARM four years ago at the cost of $32 billion, but it’s unclear how much Nvidia is willing to pay to acquire the firm. If the deal fails, Bloomberg reported that Softbank may proceed with taking ARM through a public stock listing, and an IPO could value the company at $44 billion.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/nvidia-acquisition-of-arm-game-changer/

It's possible they could be in "talks", but like HH says, that means nothing at all. nVidia could be trying to steal it; Softbank could be trying to rob nVidia...;) Or it could be something entirely different they are discussing. Somehow I don't see nVidia and ARM as a good fit. nVidia could do like Apple does and license the general architecture IP and then develop its own custom ARM processors. No need to spend $30B to do that. As well, nVidia could set up shop for custom nVidia CPU designs for a lot less. I guess nVidia might want ARM for the cash flow and existing customer base. Knowing the relationship Apple and nVidia have--or rather don't have at present--I think Apple wouldn't be so happy to see this. Interesting times!

Noisiv:

I very much doubt that something as basic as this flies over the heads of EU overlords. Why would EU want to bet their houses during schizo moment US/China are going through. Let them deal with it.

Being as ARM is already owned by Softbank who are Japanese I can't see that being an issue.

Dribble:

Being as ARM is already owned by Softbank who are Japanese I can't see that being an issue.

fully aware. dunno what everyone saying ARM IS UK is on about..