Israel frenzy over $4-trillion NVIDIA
Nvidia has received numerous offers from Israeli municipalities and organizations seeking to host the company’s planned massive campus expansion, as the US artificial intelligence chip giant looks to significantly grow its operations in the Jewish state.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, the first company in the world valued at $4 trillion, issued a request for information this week to acquire land for a new facility near its existing northern Israel campus.
The move comes less than a decade after its acquisition of Israeli-based Mellanox in Yokneam Illit, which transformed the AI industry and made the AI revolution possible.
Industry sources told Reuters that the new project could cost billions of dollars and create thousands of jobs. The world’s most valuable company by market capitalization has set a July 23 deadline for offers to build its campus of up to 1.94 million square feet.
Nvidia acquired its Israel presence in 2020 through the purchase of Mellanox Technologies for nearly $7 billion. The company has since expanded its workforce dramatically, nearly tripling in size since the acquisition. Its current Israeli operations are based in Yokneam, near Haifa, where numerous technology companies maintain facilities.
Haifa officials told Reuters that they are “currently busy preparing an attractive offer for the company” and believe that Haifa is “the city with the best potential for them.”
The expansion comes as major technology companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Tesla compete to build AI data centers and dominate the emerging technology sector. This competition has led to a surge in demand for Nvidia’s high-end processors, driving the company’s remarkable growth trajectory.
One source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Israel’s expertise was “extremely important to the AI era” and that Nvidia needed to expand rapidly to meet demand. The company employs 5,000 workers in Israel and has made several additional acquisitions in the country over recent years.
According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, the planned center could accommodate at least 3,000 employees, with the project expected to unfold over several years.
Nvidia stressed that the requested land must be available for immediate purchase and construction.
Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, described the planned campus as massive and capable of housing “a few thousand employees.” He told Reuters that “Nvidia sees its operation in Israel as something which is going to stay here for a very long time and to expand here — is a sign of confidence in Israel.”
The expansion announcement comes as rival Intel faces challenges in the region. Intel, which has operated in Israel since 1974 and employs 9,350 workers in the country, has begun trimming its workforce globally. Israeli media reported that several hundred workers in Israel are being made redundant, though a local spokesperson declined to comment on specific numbers.
