英伟达将以400亿美元收购Arm，打造人工智能时代首屈一指的计算公司

大概译文如下：

2020年9月13日，星期天

 

将英伟达在人工智能领域的领导地位与Arm庞大的计算生态系统结合起来，推动创新。

英伟达将扩大Arm在英国剑桥的研发部门，建立一个世界级的人工智能研究和教育中心，并为突破研究建造一台由Arm/NVIDIA驱动的人工智能超级计算机

英伟达将继续Arm的开放授权模式和客户中立，并利用英伟达技术扩大Arm的知识产权授权组合

立即增加NVIDIA的非公认会计准则毛利率和每股收益

400亿美元的价格价包含股票和现金。

英伟达和软银集团(SBG)今天宣布了一项最终协议，根据该协议，英伟达将从SBG和软银远景基金(合“软银”)手中收购Arm有限公司，交易价值400亿美元。该交易预计将立即增加英伟达的非公认会计准则毛利率和非公认会计准则每股收益。

此次合并将把英伟达(NVIDIA)领先的人工智能计算平台与Arm庞大的生态系统结合在一起，打造出人工智能时代首屈一指的计算公司，加速创新，同时向大型、高增长市场扩张。通过持有NVIDIA的股份，软银将继续致力于Arm的长期成功，预计持股比例将低于10%。

英伟达创始人兼首席执行官黄延森表示:“人工智能是我们这个时代最强大的技术力量，并掀起了一股新的计算浪潮。”“在未来几年，数万亿运行人工智能的计算机将创建一个新的物联网，其规模将是今天的人联网的数千倍。我们的结合将创造出一家在人工智能时代定位卓越的公司。

西蒙•西格斯(Simon Segars)和他在Arm的团队创建了一家非凡的公司，为世界上几乎所有技术市场做出贡献。将英伟达的人工智能计算能力与Arm CPU的庞大生态系统结合起来，我们就能从云计算、智能手机、个人电脑、自动驾驶汽车和机器人技术，到物联网的边缘，将人工智能计算扩展到全球每个角落。

 

“这种结合对公司、我们的客户和整个行业都有巨大的好处。对于Arm的生态系统而言，这两家公司的合并将增强Arm的研发能力，并借助英伟达(NVIDIA)全球领先的GPU和AI技术扩大其IP组合。

 

Arm的总部仍将设在剑桥。我们将扩大这个伟大的网站，建立一个世界级的人工智能研究机构，支持医疗保健、生命科学、机器人、自动驾驶汽车和其他领域的发展。此外，为了吸引来自英国和世界各地的研究人员和科学家进行开创性的工作，英伟达将建造一个最先进的人工智能超级计算机，由Arm cpu驱动。Arm剑桥将成为世界一流的技术中心。”

 

“英伟达是Arm的完美合作伙伴，”SBG董事长兼首席执行官孙正义(Masayoshi Son)表示。“自收购Arm以来，我们一直信守承诺，在人员、技术和研发方面投入巨资，从而将业务拓展到具有高增长潜力的新领域。”与世界领先的技术创新公司携手合作，为Arm创造了令人兴奋的新机遇。这是一个引人注目的组合，让Arm、剑桥和英国在我们这个时代最激动人心的一些技术创新上走在了前列，这也是为什么软银兴奋地投资于Arm作为英伟达的大股东的长期成功。我们期待着支持合并后业务的持续成功。”

 

Arm的首席执行官Simon Segars说:“Arm和英伟达有着共同的愿景和激情，即无处不在的节能计算将有助于解决世界上最紧迫的问题，从气候变化到医疗保健，从农业到教育。”“要实现这一愿景，就需要对硬件和软件采取新方法，并对研发作出长期承诺。”通过把我们两家公司的技术优势结合在一起，我们可以加快我们的进展，创造新的解决方案，从而形成一个创新的全球生态系统。我和我的管理团队都很高兴能加入英伟达，这样我们就能一起谱写下一篇章。”

 

对Arm和英国的承诺

作为英伟达(NVIDIA)的一部分，Arm将继续运营其开放授权模式，同时保持全球客户中立，这是其成功的基础，迄今为止，Arm的授权商已售出1800亿芯片。Arm的合作伙伴也将受益于两家公司的产品，包括英伟达的众多创新。

 

软银和Arm完全致力于完成软银在2016年收购Arm时做出的承诺，该交易计划于2021年9月完成。交易完成后，英伟达打算保留Arm的名称和强大的品牌身份，并扩大其规模。

原文如下：
Sunday, September 13, 2020

• Unites NVIDIA’s leadership in artificial intelligence with Arm’s vast computing ecosystem to drive innovation for all customers
• NVIDIA will expand Arm’s R&D presence in Cambridge, UK, by establishing a world-class AI research and education center, and building an Arm/NVIDIA-powered AI supercomputer for groundbreaking research
• NVIDIA will continue Arm’s open-licensing model and customer neutrality and expand Arm’s IP licensing portfolio with NVIDIA technology
• Immediately accretive to NVIDIA’s non-GAAP gross margin and EPS
• Consideration of $40 billion to be met through a combination of NVIDIA shares and cash

NVIDIA and SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) today announced a definitive agreement under which NVIDIA will acquire Arm Limited from SBG and the SoftBank Vision Fund (together, “SoftBank”) in a transaction valued at $40 billion. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to NVIDIA’s non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP earnings per share.

The combination brings together NVIDIA’s leading AI computing platform with Arm’s vast ecosystem to create the premier computing company for the age of artificial intelligence, accelerating innovation while expanding into large, high-growth markets. SoftBank will remain committed to Arm’s long-term success through its ownership stake in NVIDIA, expected to be under 10 percent.

“AI is the most powerful technology force of our time and has launched a new wave of computing,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “In the years ahead, trillions of computers running AI will create a new internet-of-things that is thousands of times larger than today’s internet-of-people. Our combination will create a company fabulously positioned for the age of AI.

“Simon Segars and his team at Arm have built an extraordinary company that is contributing to nearly every technology market in the world. Uniting NVIDIA’s AI computing capabilities with the vast ecosystem of Arm’s CPU, we can advance computing from the cloud, smartphones, PCs, self-driving cars and robotics, to edge IoT, and expand AI computing to every corner of the globe.

“This combination has tremendous benefits for both companies, our customers, and the industry. For Arm’s ecosystem, the combination will turbocharge Arm’s R&D capacity and expand its IP portfolio with NVIDIA’s world-leading GPU and AI technology.

“Arm will remain headquartered in Cambridge. We will expand on this great site and build a world-class AI research facility, supporting developments in healthcare, life sciences, robotics, self-driving cars and other fields. And, to attract researchers and scientists from the U.K. and around the world to conduct groundbreaking work, NVIDIA will build a state-of-the-art AI supercomputer, powered by Arm CPUs. Arm Cambridge will be a world-class technology center.”

“NVIDIA is the perfect partner for Arm,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SBG. “Since acquiring Arm, we have honored our commitments and invested heavily in people, technology and R&D, thereby expanding the business into new areas with high growth potential. Joining forces with a world leader in technology innovation creates new and exciting opportunities for Arm. This is a compelling combination that projects Arm, Cambridge and the U.K. to the forefront of some of the most exciting technological innovations of our time and is why SoftBank is excited to invest in Arm’s long-term success as a major shareholder in NVIDIA. We look forward to supporting the continued success of the combined business.”

“Arm and NVIDIA share a vision and passion that ubiquitous, energy-efficient computing will help address the world’s most pressing issues from climate change to healthcare, from agriculture to education,” said Simon Segars, CEO of Arm. “Delivering on this vision requires new approaches to hardware and software and a long-term commitment to research and development. By bringing together the technical strengths of our two companies we can accelerate our progress and create new solutions that will enable a global ecosystem of innovators. My management team and I are excited to be joining NVIDIA so we can write this next chapter together.”

Commitment to Arm and the UK
As part of NVIDIA, Arm will continue to operate its open-licensing model while maintaining the global customer neutrality that has been foundational to its success, with 180 billion chips shipped to-date by its licensees. Arm partners will also benefit from both companies’ offerings, including NVIDIA’s numerous innovations.

SoftBank and Arm are fully committed to satisfying the undertakings made by SoftBank when it acquired Arm in 2016, which are scheduled to complete in September 2021. Following the closing of the transaction, NVIDIA intends to retain the name and strong brand identity of Arm and expand its base in Cambridge. Arm’s intellectual property will remain registered in the U.K. 

NVIDIA will build on Arm’s R&D presence in the U.K., establishing a new global center of excellence in AI research at Arm’s Cambridge campus. NVIDIA will invest in a state-of-the-art, Arm-powered AI supercomputer, training facilities for developers and a startup incubator, which will attract world-class research talent and create a platform for innovation and industry partnerships in fields such as healthcare, robotics and self-driving cars. 

Additional Transaction Details
Under the terms of the transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of NVIDIA, SBG and Arm, NVIDIA will pay to SoftBank a total of $21.5 billion in NVIDIA common stock and $12 billion in cash, which includes $2 billion payable at signing. The number of NVIDIA shares to be issued at closing is 44.3 million, determined using the average closing price of NVIDIA common stock for the last 30 trading days. Additionally, SoftBank may receive up to $5 billion in cash or common stock under an earn-out construct, subject to satisfaction of specific financial performance targets by Arm.

NVIDIA will also issue $1.5 billion in equity to Arm employees.

NVIDIA intends to finance the cash portion of the transaction with balance sheet cash. The transaction does not include Arm’s IoT Services Group.

The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals for the U.K., China, the European Union and the United States. Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in approximately 18 months.

Conference Call and Webcast Details 
NVIDIA will conduct a webcast at 5:30 a.m. PT on Monday, September 14, to discuss the transaction. The webcast is available on NVIDIA’s Investor Relations website at https://investor.nvidia.com/. A webcast replay and a copy of the webcast presentation materials will also be available at https://investor.nvidia.com/.