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Poolside AI has struck a non-exclusive licensing deal with Nvidia for $6 billion

Poolside AI has struck a non-exclusive licensing deal with Nvidia for $6 billion

AI startupenterprise Newcomer
Poolside AI is licensing its model-building technology to Nvidia in a $6 billion deal that includes moving 109 staff members to Nvidia.
What: In a $6 billion non-exclusive licensing agreement, Poolside AI will provide model access to Nvidia while simultaneously raising $1 billion at a $12 billion pre-money valuation. Notably, 109 Poolside employees are transferring to Nvidia, though the startup's founders maintain they are retaining leadership of the company.
Why it matters: This arrangement mimics recent acquihire trends but preserves the startup's cap table and control, signaling a new hybrid model where labs trade talent and compute-heavy licensing for massive capital injections without total exits.
Deep dive
  • Deal structure: $6 billion licensing agreement + $1 billion capital raise.
  • Staffing impact: 109 employees moving to Nvidia payroll.
  • Valuation: $12 billion pre-money.
  • Founders remain in control of the startup entity.
  • Licensing is non-exclusive, allowing Poolside to continue selling services to other customers.
Decoder
  • Acquihire: An acquisition where a company is bought primarily to gain its talent rather than its products or revenue.
  • Pre-money valuation: The value of a company before an investment round takes place.
Original article

Poolside AI, the artificial intelligence model-building startup, has struck a non-exclusive licensing deal with Nvidia for $6 billion, plus a $1 billion investment in Poolside at a $12 billion pre-money valuation, according to a letter to investors obtained by Newcomer. As part of the deal 109 Poolside employees are getting offers to leave the startup to join Nvidia.

The deal echoes the acquihires that other AI startups have struck in the last few years with tech giants — though this one has a major twist: Unlike Scale-Meta, Nvidia-Groq and Character AI-Google where the founders jumped ship, Poolside’s founders will be staying with the startup. “This is not an acquisition and it is not an acquihire,” the founders wrote in the note obtained by Newcomer.

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