Nvidia made a surprise announcement today, acquiring Ageia Technologies and its PhysX line of hardware and software. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Ageia’s sale comes almost five months after rival physics technology maker Havok was acquired by Intel. Nvidia’s acquisition puts an even stronger emphasis on physics-focused hardware and software for gaming and also gives the Intel-Nvidia combination a leg up on rivals AMD and ATI in the physics department (AMD had reportedly considered a bit for Ageia late last year). “The AGEIA team is world class, and is passionate about the same thing we are—creating the most amazing and captivating game experiences,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia, in a press statement. "By combining the teams that created the world's most pervasive GPU and physics engine brands, we can now bring GeForce-accelerated PhysX to hundreds of millions of gamers around the world.”
Nvidia will now have the benefit of Ageia’s PhysX hardware, or physics processing unit, as well as the company’s PhysX SDK middleware offering for game developers. Ageia’s technology is currently being used in more than 140 titles that have shipped or are currently in development for both the PC as well as the next generation consoles. Some notable titles include Gears of War, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Tom Clamcy’s Rainbow Six Vegas, and Unreal Tournament 3. Recently Ageia increased its efforts to provide PhysX-based mod tools for Unreal Tournament 3, including a special UT3 mod kit and brand new maps for the multiplayer shooter.
“Nvidia is the perfect fit for us. They have the world's best parallel computing technology and are the thought leaders in GPUs and gaming. We are united by a common culture based on a passion for innovating and driving the consumer experience,”said Manju Hegde, co-founder and CEO of Ageia, in a press statement.
Nividia said the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions.
Comments (5)
INTEL WILL ACQUIRE NVIDIA....AND THE WORLD WILL GO ON.
THIS ALL IS SHIT..
THEY ARE ACQUIRING... AND COMPETETIONS ARE OVERING.. MEANS... CONSUMERS HAVE TO PAY MORE BCOZ OF NO COMPETETION IN THE ZONES
Posted by NADEEM | February 5, 2008 6:42 AM
Posted on February 5, 2008 06:42
I Totally agree with Nadeem
Posted by james thomas | February 5, 2008 7:51 PM
Posted on February 5, 2008 19:51
Why would intel acquire nvidia? Last I heard, Intel are going to be entering the GPU arena to try and beat them, not buy them. It's obvious Intel acquired havok to intergrate physics processors into their forthcoming GPUs, and invidia countered by acquiring physx. If anything the competition is going to heat up. Relax. ;)
Posted by mbw | February 5, 2008 11:21 PM
Posted on February 5, 2008 23:21
Hey Nadeem,
Do you actually talk like that? In the real world? Might want to invest in some Hooked on Phonics.
Bottom line here is Nvidia is making a smart move in their attempt to compete with Intel and AMD / ATI. Nvidia's already mating multiple cards into one form-factor. This will provide them the opportunity to have a GPU/Physics solution, then mate that with another GPU and you've got a SLI w/ Physics in a two card / one card form-factor.
Stupidity breeds paranoia, so continue to use stuff like this to propogate your fears. Me? I'll pick up the first combo and run it in SLI and drool over how good everything looks.
Posted by TheFreyMan | February 6, 2008 5:19 AM
Posted on February 6, 2008 05:19
The x86-CPU is dead. The heatwall killed it.
Now the GPU,FPU,SPU and the other dicrete's rule.
AMD bought a gpu-maker.
Intel bought a FPU.
Nvidia bought a FPU.
Maybe Intel will make the next generation CPU for Apple?
A new starting point is needed.
Until then, the discretes rule.
Posted by Perzy | February 6, 2008 3:43 PM
Posted on February 6, 2008 15:43