Nvidia Inks a $7B Deal with AI Startup Poolside Without Acquisition
In a remarkable tech deal, Nvidia has consented to pay $6 billion to license AI model-development software from the startup Poolside. This agreement also includes an additional investment of $1 billion at a $12 billion pre-money valuation. Interestingly, all these transactions are happening without a formal acquisition of the company.
The deal, initially reported by Newcomer and later confirmed by Bloomberg, revolves around Poolside’s unique platform, “Model Factory”. This system is what the startup utilized to construct its open-source AI model, Laguna. As part of the deal, Nvidia is extending job offers to 109 Poolside employees, while Poolside’s three co-founders will continue with the independent company.
As the world’s leading AI chip maker, Nvidia has been assertively investing in open-source AI models under its Nemotron line. The Poolside deal follows a similar structure Nvidia used with Groq ($20 billion) and Enfabrica ($900 million). This structure combines licensing, investment, and talent recruitment to secure AI intellectual property, effectively bypassing the lengthy regulatory reviews associated with outright acquisitions.
Analysts suggest that this new deal template — paying for technology, taking a stake, and hiring key staff while leaving the corporate shell intact — could become the standard playbook for big tech firms navigating an increasingly cautious antitrust environment.
Source: PYMNTS.com – Nvidia Pays $6 Billion to License Poolside AI Model-Development Software