What Companies Does Nvidia Own? Mellanox Explained
Nvidia owns Mellanox Technologies, whose networking business became a central part of Nvidia after the acquisition closed in 2020. But Mellanox is not the only company or business Nvidia has acquired: the company has also bought other firms and technologies, while many products sold under the Nvidia name are divisions or product lines rather than separately owned companies.
What Nvidia owns: the Mellanox answer
Mellanox Technologies was an Israeli-American supplier of high-speed networking equipment, including InfiniBand and Ethernet switches, network adapters, cables, and related software. Nvidia announced an agreement to acquire Mellanox in March 2019 and completed the purchase on April 27, 2020, after receiving regulatory approvals. Nvidia reported a purchase price of approximately $6.9 billion in cash.
After the acquisition, Mellanox’s technology and products were integrated into Nvidia’s data-center business. The Mellanox name may still appear in product descriptions, documentation, and references to established technologies, but that does not mean Mellanox remains an independent public company. Nvidia is its owner.
The acquisition mattered because computing clusters need fast connections as well as fast processors. Mellanox’s networking technology complements Nvidia’s GPUs: it helps move data between servers and accelerators, which is important in large-scale artificial intelligence training, scientific computing, and other workloads distributed across many machines.
Why Nvidia bought Mellanox
A GPU can perform calculations quickly, but a cluster’s overall performance also depends on how rapidly its machines exchange data. If network links become a bottleneck, expensive processors may sit idle waiting for information. Mellanox gave Nvidia expertise in the hardware and software used to connect those systems.
InfiniBand is a high-performance networking technology commonly used in supercomputing and large data-center systems. Ethernet is the widely used networking standard found across enterprise and consumer networks, and it is also used in data centers. Mellanox developed equipment for both. Nvidia can combine networking products with its GPUs, systems, and software into integrated computing platforms.
For example, a large AI training job may be split across many servers, each containing multiple GPUs. The GPUs need to exchange model data and intermediate results. High-bandwidth, low-latency links and networking features designed for these workloads can help the cluster operate more efficiently. This is why Mellanox was a strategic acquisition rather than simply a company whose name Nvidia added to a list.
Other notable Nvidia acquisitions
Nvidia has acquired companies over several decades, often to obtain engineering teams, intellectual property, or capabilities that strengthen its products. Among the better-known completed acquisitions are:
- 3dfx Interactive assets (2000): Nvidia acquired assets of the graphics-chip company after it entered bankruptcy. This is often described as an asset purchase, not the acquisition of an ongoing independent company in the same form.
- MediaQ (2003): Nvidia acquired the graphics and multimedia technology company, adding expertise for mobile and embedded devices.
- iReady (2004): The acquisition added networking and communications technology.
- Ageia (2008): Nvidia acquired the maker of PhysX physics-processing technology, which it incorporated into its graphics and software ecosystem.
- Icera (2011): Nvidia bought the baseband-modem company as part of its work on mobile processors.
- Mellanox Technologies (2020): The largest and most consequential of these examples for Nvidia’s modern data-center strategy.
This is not a complete list of every acquisition, asset purchase, or small technology deal. Corporate ownership also changes over time, so a historical acquisition list should not be mistaken for a complete current directory of Nvidia subsidiaries.
What “owns” means in this case
In everyday usage, saying “Nvidia owns Mellanox” is accurate: Nvidia bought the company and controls the business and its assets. In corporate records, however, an acquired company may be reorganized, merged into another entity, or kept as a subsidiary for legal and operational reasons. Product branding can continue after the corporate structure changes.
That distinction explains why online searches may show a mix of names. Mellanox can refer to the former company, a product family, or technologies that remain in use. Nvidia may also sell networking products under Nvidia branding while retaining Mellanox terminology in technical materials. These labels do not necessarily identify separate companies available to buy or invest in.
Similarly, “Nvidia owns” does not mean it owns every company whose products work with Nvidia hardware. A software vendor, server maker, or cloud provider can partner with Nvidia without being its subsidiary. Partnership, supplier relationships, licensing, and ownership are different arrangements.
How to check whether a company is owned by Nvidia
For a current ownership question, check primary sources rather than inferring ownership from a product logo or a technology name. Useful evidence includes Nvidia’s annual reports and regulatory filings, acquisition announcements, and the target company’s official corporate notices. For a specific subsidiary, filings may list the legal entity even if customers see a different brand.
- Look for a completed acquisition announcement, not just a proposal or reported negotiation.
- Check the date: an announcement does not establish that a deal closed.
- Distinguish a purchase of company shares from a purchase of selected assets or technology.
- Confirm whether the name refers to a company, a product line, a technology, or a brand.
This matters in the Mellanox case because Nvidia announced the deal in 2019 but did not complete it until 2020. It also matters when evaluating other widely reported transactions: a proposed acquisition that fails to close does not make the target an owned company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nvidia own Mellanox?
Yes. Nvidia completed its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies on April 27, 2020. Mellanox networking technology and products are now part of Nvidia’s business.
How much did Nvidia pay for Mellanox?
Nvidia reported a purchase price of approximately $6.9 billion in cash for the acquisition.
Is Mellanox still a separate company?
It is no longer an independent company under its former ownership. Mellanox remains a useful name in product and technology references, but Nvidia owns the business acquired in 2020.
What does Mellanox make?
Mellanox developed high-speed data-center networking products and technologies, including InfiniBand and Ethernet switches and network adapters. These help connect servers and accelerators in computing clusters.
Does Nvidia own ARM?
No. Nvidia’s proposed acquisition of Arm was terminated in 2022 and did not close. Arm therefore did not become an Nvidia-owned company.
Are all Nvidia partners owned by Nvidia?
No. A company can supply components, support Nvidia products, or work with Nvidia as a partner without being owned by it. Ownership should be verified through acquisition and corporate filings.
Related
Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.