Nvidia is in talks to acquire or invest more in open weight model lab Reflection AI, the Financial Times reports
Nvidia is in early-stage negotiations to acquire or further invest in startup Reflection AI, an American developer of open-weight models, the Financial Times reported
Context
According to the FT, the world's most valuable chipmaker is weighing taking over or deepening its stake in a US lab the Trump administration hopes will rival cheap Chinese open models, which would pull Nvidia further into building models itself.
Reflection AI is a US startup building open weight models, meaning models whose weights anyone can download and run. It was founded by former Google DeepMind researchers Misha Laskin and Ioannis Antonoglou, according to RuntimeWire. The FT reported that Nvidia is already one of its largest shareholders, having invested $800 million.
- Financial Times: Nvidia in talks to acquire US open model start up Reflection AI
- Bloomberg: Nvidia is in talks to acquire Reflection AI, the FT reports
- Reuters on X: Nvidia in talks to invest further in Reflection AI or buy it, FT reports
- zerohedge on X: Nvidia in talks to acquire Reflection AI, per the FT
- RuntimeWire: Nvidia weighs buying Reflection AI after its Beam debut
Deep dive
The Financial Times reported on October 10 that Nvidia is in talks to acquire or deepen its investment in Reflection AI, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. Bloomberg and Reuters both relayed the report, describing the talks as early stage.
According to the FT, as summarized by RuntimeWire, the options under discussion include a full acquisition, an acquihire in which Nvidia would hire Reflection staff and license its technology, a larger equity investment, or a bigger deal for chips and computing capacity. People told the FT that a deal could come in the coming weeks but cautioned that the talks could fall apart. The FT said it could not establish the terms being discussed. Nvidia and Reflection declined to comment to the FT, according to RuntimeWire.
RuntimeWire reported that the talks come five days after Reflection introduced Beam, its first open weight model, and that Reflection says it will release the weights later in October. It also reported that Reflection's latest funding round closed at a $25 billion valuation before the new money in April, citing the company's newsroom, and noted that this is not a proposed deal price.
The FT described Reflection as a developer the Trump administration hopes will rival cheap Chinese open models.
What to expect next
Watch for any confirmation or denial from Nvidia or Reflection, and for which structure a deal takes, since an acquihire and license would likely face less antitrust review than a full purchase.
Also watch whether Reflection still releases the Beam weights later this month as promised, and how other model labs that rely on Nvidia chips react to their main supplier owning a model maker outright.