Nvidia to license graphics tech portfolio
New strategy a response to huge changes in IT industries
Nvidia will begin licensing its graphics technology to other companies in an effort to address sweeping industrial changes.
Nvidia will begin by licensing the GPU core based on the Nvidia Kepler architecture, but ultimately it expects to open up all of its GPU cores and its computing patent portfolio to potential licensees.
While the move isn't entirely unprecedented - Nvidia cited its arrangement with Sony for the PlayStation 3, and its £250 million-a-year deal with Intel - the strategy has been described as a response to the way the, "IT world is being upended."
"PC sales are declining with the rise of smartphones and tablets. High-definition screens are proliferating, showing up on most every machine. Android is increasingly pervasive," a post on the company's blog read.
"Yesterday's PC industry, which produced several hundred million units a year, will soon become a computing-devices industry that produces many billions of units a year. And visual computing is at the epicenter of it all."
As a result of this diversity, Nvidia believes it is no longer "practical" to attempt to cater to the needs of every part of the market with its own solutions.