Nvidia has reached a $6 billion agreement with AI startup Poolside to accelerate the development of one of the world’s most powerful open-source AI models, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Under the agreement, Nvidia will gain access to Poolside’s AI technology while bringing much of the startup’s engineering team into the company. The project is aimed at building a frontier AI model capable of competing directly with leading Chinese systems such as DeepSeek and Kimi K3, while also challenging closed-model leaders including OpenAI and Anthropic.
Nvidia Expands Beyond AI Hardware
The agreement marks another major step in Nvidia’s strategy of expanding beyond GPUs into AI software and foundation models.
Rather than supplying hardware alone, Nvidia is increasingly investing in every layer of the AI ecosystem, including infrastructure, cloud services, robotics, and model development.
The addition of Poolside’s technology and engineering talent significantly strengthens Nvidia’s ambitions in open-source AI.
Building a Global Open-Source Competitor
According to the report, the new model is intended to rank among the world’s most capable open-source AI systems.
The initiative reflects growing competition between U.S. and Chinese AI developers, with companies racing to build increasingly powerful foundation models for enterprise and consumer applications.
By combining Nvidia’s computing infrastructure with Poolside’s expertise, the company aims to accelerate the development of next-generation open AI models.
Competition Intensifies
The project is expected to increase competition across the frontier AI market.
While Nvidia’s stated objective is to compete with rapidly advancing Chinese models, the resulting platform could also challenge leading U.S. developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which continue investing heavily in proprietary AI systems.
The agreement further blurs the distinction between AI infrastructure providers and AI model developers as competition across the industry continues to intensify.
Nvidia Deepens Its AI Strategy
The transaction follows a series of major investments by Nvidia across artificial intelligence.
Over the past year, the company has expanded aggressively through partnerships, infrastructure projects, strategic investments, and acquisitions designed to strengthen its position throughout the AI value chain.
The Poolside agreement reinforces Nvidia’s long-term strategy of becoming not only the dominant supplier of AI hardware but also a leading force in the development of advanced artificial intelligence models.
