NVIDIA Divests Arm Holdings, Maintains Licensing Partnership

Quick Report

NVIDIA has officially divested all its holdings in Arm Holdings PLC, selling 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $140 million. The sale marks the end of NVIDIA's equity position in the company it once attempted to acquire for $40 billion, though the two firms remain partners through ongoing licensing agreements.

Despite exiting its ownership stake, NVIDIA continues licensing Arm IP and instruction sets for its CPU products. The company's Grace and newer Vera server CPUs both utilize Arm architecture, while the Jetson embedded computing platform—powering robotics and autonomous vehicle development—relies on Arm-based SoCs. NVIDIA recently began offering Vera CPUs as standalone server processors designed to compete with x86 offerings from AMD and Intel, signaling long-term commitment to Arm as a technology partner rather than an investment target.

The divestment closes a chapter that began in late 2020 when NVIDIA announced plans to acquire Arm Ltd. for $40 billion. UK and EU regulators blocked the deal in 2022 to preserve market competition, citing concerns that NVIDIA ownership would harm innovation and fair access to Arm technology. NVIDIA paid a $1.25 billion break-up fee when the acquisition collapsed under regulatory pressure.

It's worth noting that NVIDIA GPUs don't use Arm-based IP—the company's graphics processors employ separate RISC-V core IP developed in-house that serves as command and control infrastructure. Beyond Arm, NVIDIA maintains significant investments in companies including CoreWeave and Synopsys, demonstrating a broader strategy of strategic partnerships across the semiconductor ecosystem.

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Source(s)

• Bloomberg