Nvidia, the graphics card giant, announced Sunday night an agreement to acquire the Arm Limited chip operation from SoftBank Group for about $40 billion.
Arm has designed chips used in many of the world's most popular consumer devices, but generally relies on other companies for physical fabrication. Meanwhile, Nvidia is the world leader in consumer graphics, led by the PC video game market. By melding Nvidia's graphics prowess with Arm's design expertise, the combined company could challenge both Intel and AMD in the broader chip market.
In recent years, Nvidia has expanded from the gaming market into artificial intelligence and other business applications. The potential ARM acquisition enhances Nvidia's position in mobile and industrial chip markets.