Nvidia is discussing a larger investment in Reflection AI or a possible acquisition, potentially giving the chipmaker a greater stake in the startup behind open-weight AI models. The Financial Times reported Saturday that talks remain at an early stage and could still fall apart.
A Deal With Several Possible Forms
The discussions could lead to a full acquisition. But other structures are on the table, too. Under one option, an “acqui-hire,” Nvidia would hire Reflection staff and license its technology rather than buy the company outright. The Financial Times reported that this approach could avoid a lengthy regulatory review.
The parties could reach an agreement in the coming weeks, the report said, though no deal is assured. The talks could take several forms, and the report didn’t specify which option Nvidia or Reflection favors.
Reflection declined to comment on the Financial Times report. Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has already invested $800 million in Reflection and serves as a major financial backer and strategic investor, the newspaper reported.
The potential transaction puts the companies’ existing relationship at the center of the story. Nvidia is already a major investor, and further investment, an acquisition, or an acqui-hire would deepen its involvement in Reflection’s business or technology. The reported options differ in how much of the company Nvidia might take on, but each would involve the startup and its work.
A Startup Seeking Capital and Market Share
Former DeepMind researchers Misha Laskin and Ioannis Antonoglou founded Reflection in 2024. The company develops tools to automate software development, a fast-growing AI use case, according to the report.
Reflection chief executive Laskin told CNBC in April that the Nvidia-backed startup was raising fresh capital at a pre-money valuation of $25 billion. The report didn’t say whether the current discussions would use that valuation or concern the same fundraising effort.
On Monday, Reflection launched Beam, its first open-weight model. The company aims to compete in coding and agentic tasks with lower-cost Chinese models, including DeepSeek and Kimi. The report gives no performance comparisons, pricing details, or market-share figures for the models.
Beam’s launch and the reported talks put Reflection’s fundraising and product push alongside a possible change in its relationship with Nvidia. The company is pursuing competition in coding and agentic tasks, while Nvidia, already a major financial backer and strategic investor, weighs whether to invest further or pursue a purchase.
The report doesn’t establish that Nvidia will acquire Reflection, invest additional money, or hire its staff. It describes early-stage talks, possible deal structures, and the chance that discussions may fail. For now, Reflection has launched Beam and is seeking to compete with lower-cost Chinese models, while the potential terms of any Nvidia arrangement remain unsettled.