Nvidia plans to invest in d-Matrix, an AI inference chip startup that sells processors which compete with its own, according to The Information. Citing three people with knowledge of the deal, the report says the investment is part of a push to make Nvidia’s technology work with chips from other designers. Neither Nvidia nor d-Matrix has confirmed it, and they haven’t disclosed the size or timing.
The reported stake would follow similar arrangements with Marvell, Intel and Amazon. Nvidia and Marvell announced a strategic partnership on 31 March that connects Marvell’s custom chips to Nvidia’s AI factory ecosystem through NVLink Fusion, and Nvidia has said it also invested in Marvell. AWS, meanwhile, said in December that it is designing its Trainium4 chips to work with NVLink Fusion.
What NVLink Fusion does
First unveiled in May 2025, NVLink Fusion is the interconnect technology that lets partners build semi-custom AI infrastructure. Non-Nvidia accelerators plug into Nvidia’s rack designs and networking, so a data centre can mix processor types without a separate rack architecture for each.
d-Matrix announced on 10 September that it will use NVLink Fusion to connect its next-generation Raptor processors to Nvidia’s platform. Its racks are meant to work alongside Nvidia GPU systems such as Vera Rubin NVL72 for disaggregated inference, where different hardware handles different stages of a workload. “Demand for inference is soaring, but capital, time and energy remain finite,” said Sid Sheth, d-Matrix’s cofounder and CEO. Reuters reported that Microsoft has backed the startup since a $110 million round in 2023.
Why Nvidia would back a rival
The logic is about staying central as customers diversify. Rivals’ chips that connect through Nvidia’s networking and racks still sit inside Nvidia’s infrastructure. Customers can add specialised hardware without abandoning their existing systems, and Nvidia keeps its role in the stack. It hedges against the inference market fragmenting into purpose-built chips, a shift Nvidia has also addressed with its Groq 3 LPX inference accelerator.
d-Matrix is a sizeable bet. Data Center Dynamics notes that it closed a $275 million Series C in November 2025 at a $2 billion valuation, and that The Information separately reported in July that it was seeking new financing at a $5 billion valuation. Reuters’ figures differ slightly, citing $450 million raised last year at the same $2 billion valuation.
What it means for regional buyers
Nothing in the reporting mentions the Gulf. The relevant point is indirect: GCC governments and cloud providers building AI capacity buy racks and networking from this ecosystem, and a more open Nvidia platform would widen the chip options they can slot into one design. That remains a possibility, not a confirmed offer. Nvidia’s RTX Spark and Surface Laptop Ultra launch shows the same company pushing its stack from data centres down to Windows PCs.
Has Nvidia confirmed the d-Matrix investment?
No. The report relies on three anonymous sources, and neither company has commented publicly on the stake, its size or its timeline.
What is NVLink Fusion?
It’s Nvidia’s interconnect and rack platform for third-party chips. Partners such as d-Matrix and Marvell use it to connect their own processors to Nvidia GPUs, CPUs and networking.
