Nvidia is in early talks to either invest more in Reflection AI or buy the startup outright, according to a report from the Financial Times. The news comes just days after Reflection released Beam, its first open-weight AI model.
What Was Reported
- The talks are at an early stage. A deal could come within weeks, but the discussions could still fall apart, the FT reported, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.
- One option is an “acqui-hire,” in which Nvidia would hire Reflection’s staff and license its technology instead of buying the company. That structure could help avoid a lengthy regulatory review.
- Nvidia is already a major backer, having invested $800 million in Reflection, according to the FT.
Reflection declined to comment on the report, and Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. Reuters said it could not independently verify the FT’s story.
Who Is Reflection?
Reflection was founded in 2024 by former DeepMind researchers Misha Laskin and Ioannis Antonoglou. It builds tools that automate software development. In April, Laskin told CNBC the company was raising money at a $25 billion pre-money valuation.
Its new model, Beam, is aimed at coding and “agentic” tasks, where AI carries out multistep work on its own. Because it is open-weight, developers can download and run it themselves. Reflection is pitching it as an American alternative to low-cost Chinese open models such as DeepSeek and Kimi.
Why It Matters
Nvidia makes most of its money selling the chips that train and run AI models, but it has been investing heavily in the companies that build those models. Bringing Reflection closer would give it a stronger hand in U.S.-made open models.
The possible acqui-hire structure is also part of a broader trend in tech. Big companies have increasingly hired a startup’s team and licensed its technology rather than buying the company, a setup that can move faster than a traditional acquisition. Apple, for example, recently disclosed such a deal with podcast startup Huxe in a European regulatory filing.
For now, nothing is signed. Watch for an announcement, or a collapse of talks, in the coming weeks.
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