Oct 11, 2026: Nvidia is in early-stage talks to deepen its investment in open-source startup Reflection AI or potentially acquire the company, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
The talks could take several forms, including an acqui-hire arrangement in which Nvidia would hire Reflection AI staff and license its technology instead of pursuing a full acquisition, according to the report.
Such a structure could potentially help Nvidia avoid a lengthy regulatory review.
An agreement could be reached within the coming weeks, although the discussions remain at an early stage and could still fall apart, the FT said, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.
Reflection AI declined to comment on the FT report, while Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nvidia is already a major financial backer and strategic investor in Reflection AI, having invested $800 million in the startup, according to the Financial Times.
Founded in 2024 by former DeepMind researchers Misha Laskin and Ioannis Antonoglou, Reflection AI develops tools that automate software development, a fast-growing application of artificial intelligence.
Reflection Chief Executive Misha Laskin told CNBC in April that the Nvidia-backed startup was raising fresh capital at a pre-money valuation of $25 billion.
The company on Monday launched its first open-weight model, Beam, as it seeks to compete in coding and agentic tasks with lower-cost Chinese models including DeepSeek and Kimi.