Nvidia's Massive Investment Creates "Game Changer" Moment for Intel: Wedbush

Intel shares have been shocked back to life following massive investments by the U.S. government, SoftBank Group and now today's $5B deal by the world's artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia.

"This is a game changer deal for Intel as it now brings them front and center into the AI game," said Wedbush analysts, led by Daniel Ives, in a Thursday investor note. "Along with the recent US Government investment for 10% this has been a golden few weeks for Intel after years of pain and frustration for investors."

$Intel(INTC) shares surged 26% in late morning trading. If the gains hold, Intel will close at its highest value since July 2024. Shares are now up more than 50% year to date.

"The companies are incrementally focused on connecting NVDA and INTC architectures, leveraging NVDA's AI strength and accelerated computing with Intel's CPU tech ecosystem for improved technological solutions for its customers," Ives said.

"While not announcing a specific timeline for when these parts go on sale, this announcement does not impact the individual growth strategies of NVDA and INTC moving forward as both companies look to capitalize on growing demand for CPUs and GPUs within the AI Revolution," he added.

The announcement has also helped catapult Intel from a "laggard into a catalyst" and strengthened the U.S. lead in the global AI race, according to Wedbush.

"With AI infrastructure investments continuing to grow with the company expecting between $3 trillion to $4 trillion in total AI infrastructure spend by the end of the decade, the chip landscape remains NVDA's world with everybody else paying rent as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in line for the most advanced chips in the world," Ives said.