Christmas Pun - Jen-Hsun Huang will become new Intel CEO - NV merges with Intel

A new crazy rumor that Intel and NVIDIA are in talks about future developments, cross licensing and potentially even a merger between the two companies. Last decade both Intel and AMD tried to acquire NVIDIA, but these acquisition talks failed because Huang insisted on becoming the CEO of the new entity. With Intel CEO Paul Otellini retiring in May, some Intel board members reportedly feel that the chip giant needs an outsider with a fresh perspective, and perhaps Huang is just the right man with the vision to propel Intel into the future.

This time around, our sources have said that Intel did not categorically say no to one of requirements, should Nvidia be acquired - and that is that the CEO of Nvidia and the senior management take over the respectable roles in the new entity, regardless of the entity size. Remember that this requirement sunk the finalization of Nvidia-AMD tie up in 2005, which in turn ended with AMD paying $5.9 billion for ATI Technologies.

Bear in mind that Intel's BoD announced that for the first time in history, the company is considering an external person for the role of CEO, as the investors feel that the company hasn't done enough in the mobile segment. Naturally, investors in general don't have a clue how semiconductor companies work and make profit, since for every smartphone there is a high revenue chip that delivers the service - but the Street wants to see companies battling for pennies on the dollar. As the old credo goes - What The Street wants, The Street Gets - and Intel is now entering the pennies (SoC) versus dollar (Enterprise CPUs) market in terms of profits.