Nvidia pays $6bn for Poolside's model factory - The Next Web

NVIDIA has agreed to pay $6 billion for software licensing and staff from startup Poolside, while investing $1 billion in the remaining company, which is valued at $12 billion pre-money. This deal fol... Read original →

NVIDIA’s $6 billion deal with Poolside represents a strategic move to acquire talent and software licensing while sidestepping full acquisition scrutiny. This approach strengthens NVIDIA’s AI model stack, especially in open-source and data center applications, reinforcing its chip-to-software ecosystem. From a compliance standpoint, such structuring avoids antitrust concerns but may attract increased regulatory attention from EU and US authorities. Competitors like Google, Meta, and AMD are likely to emulate this model to counter NVIDIA’s growing dominance in AI infrastructure. Over the next 12–24 months, the race for AI model factories will intensify, with NVIDIA leveraging these deals to solidify its market position. The commercialization of open-source models is poised to become a new battleground in the AI industry.