Poolside AI’s $6B Nvidia licensing deal reshapes the model-building race
A novel Nvidia–Poolside arrangement. Poolside AI has agreed to a non-exclusive deal under which Nvidia will pay $6 billion to license the startup’s AI model-development software, according to a letter to investors reported by The Information and Newcomer. The arrangement is not an acquisition or an acquihire: Poolside’s three co-founders will remain in place, and the company will continue to operate independently.
What Nvidia is buying. The licence covers Poolside’s Model Factory, the system it uses to build its Laguna family of open-weight coding models. Nvidia will also make offers to 109 Poolside employees involved in developing Laguna. The reported $6 billion fee is expected to be distributed to Poolside’s investors by the end of 2027. The unusually large payment is difficult to interpret from the outside, although the investor letter suggests that continuing to compete in model development would require Poolside to secure access to Nvidia hardware beyond what it could obtain on its own.
A strategic investment alongside the licence. Nvidia is separately investing $1 billion in Poolside in a growth-equity VC round at a $13 billion post-money valuation. That financing gives Nvidia a direct stake in the company while preserving Poolside’s independence. The investment follows earlier discussions between the companies and comes after Poolside raised a $500 million Series B in October 2024. Together, the licensing agreement and equity investment give Nvidia access to Poolside’s model-building capabilities, talent and future upside without formally acquiring the startup.
Part of a broader Nvidia strategy. Nvidia has increasingly developed and backed AI software and models, putting it in a more complicated position as both infrastructure supplier and potential competitor to customers building their own systems. The Poolside deal also follows reported licensing and hiring arrangements involving inference-chip designer Groq and networking-hardware company Enfabrica. For Poolside, the transaction provides substantial capital and a powerful commercial relationship as it moves from building coding agents and model infrastructure towards competing in the open-weight model market.
Read more: The Information · Newcomer · Eric Newcomer on X
