Nvidia Stock Just Jumped After Its $2 Billion AI Investment. Here's What History Says Happens Next.

By Manali Pradhan, CFA – Apr 9, 2026 at 5:20AM ESTKey PointsNvidia is investing in Marvell for its custom silicon and networking capabilities.The Marvell deal strengthens Nvidia’s position as an integrated, end-to-end artificial intelligence platform provider.Nvidia’s strategic acquisitions and partnerships have historically driven long-term growth. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA +2.06%) have popped by close to 9% since the opening of trading on March 31, the day that the GPU maker announced its $2 billion investment in, and strategic partnership with, Marvell Technology (MRVL +4.63%). Image source: Getty Images. The deal gives Nvidia access to Marvell's semi-custom chips and optical interconnect capabilities, technologies that are crucial for moving massive amounts of data across increasingly complex systems. As artificial intelligence (AI) data centers scale up in size, Marvel's custom chips and networking solutions, which are compatible with Nvidia's NVLink Fusion platform, can help address bottlenecks in memory bandwidth, power efficiency, and interconnect speed. By strengthening its position in these areas and enabling broader interoperability across AI infrastructure, Nvidia is reinforcing its role as a full-stack AI platform provider. What does history show? To get a sense for what the impact of this partnership will be, investors should look at some of Nvidia's past acquisitions. The clearest parallel is its 2019 purchase of Israeli chip designer Mellanox Technologies. While that deal was initially viewed as a way to strengthen its networking portfolio, it has since become a crucial factor in driving Nvidia's dominance in data centers. Nvidia bundles Mellanox's high-speed networking technologies into its processors to power large-scale AI systems. ExpandNASDAQ: NVDANvidiaToday's Change(2.06%) $3.67Current Price$181.77Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.4TDay's Range$180.31 - $185.2652wk Range$95.04 - $212.19Volume5.4KAvg Vol179MGross Margin71.07%Dividend Yield0.02% Nvidia's long-term strategy involves recognizing key bottlenecks, acquiring or partnering with companies that can address those constraints, and then monetizing those capabilities over the long term. Its Marvell partnership fits this template. As they more deeply integrate their respective technologies, Nvidia will embed itself more deeply into custom silicon and next-generation interconnect technologies, including emerging approaches such as silicon photonics for data centers. Since Marvel also works with hyperscalers developing their own AI chips, this partnership will allow Nvidia to remain involved even as customers explore alternatives to its GPUs. ExpandNASDAQ: MRVLMarvell TechnologyToday's Change(4.63%) $5.07Current Price$114.45Key Data PointsMarket Cap$100BDay's Range$110.45 - $115.6652wk Range$48.09 - $115.66Volume133KAvg Vol19MGross Margin50.10%Dividend Yield0.21% Additionally, Nvidia will be able to sell more integrated, end-to-end AI systems and capture system-level value rather than relying primarily on its chip pricing power. The deal also opens opportunities for Nvidia beyond hyperscalers, in areas such as telecom networking, edge data centers, and AI-RAN (artificial intelligence--radio access network). The integration of artificial intelligence into radio access networks enables telecom infrastructure to run both connectivity and AI workloads on the same platform. Share price impact History suggests that while strategic acquisitions and partnerships often prove highly valuable, their financial impact unfolds gradually. The Mellanox deal did not immediately transform Nvidia's financial results, but eventually, the technology that the company gained became a key catalyst for its data center growth. Periods of short-term weakness in Nvidia's stock have also historically been followed by recoveries as the market returns its focus to business fundamentals. Nvidia stock recently experienced a rare two-quarter losing streak. However, over the past decade, whenever it has had a losing streak of two or more months, when those downtrends have ended, in the months that followed, it has delivered an average 1-month gain of roughly 12%. However, the current environment is more complex. Investor concerns about increasing AI infrastructure spending and rising geopolitical pressures can affect Nvidia's share prices. As a result, while history suggests the stock should be headed for a rebound, the stock's trajectory may be more volatile this time.Read NextApr 9, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerThe Market Just Gave You a Rare Chance to Buy These 3 AI Stocks at a DiscountApr 8, 2026 •By Jeremy BowmanBest IPO Stocks to Buy in 2026: Latest Upcoming Stocks to WatchApr 8, 2026 •By Anthony Di PizioNvidia vs. Micron: Which AI Chip Stock Has More Upside Potential?Apr 8, 2026 •By Adam SpataccoIf I Had $5,000 to Invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks After the Nasdaq Correction, I'd Buy These 3Apr 8, 2026 •By Justin Pope5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Trading at Bargain Prices After the March CorrectionApr 8, 2026 •By Danny Vena, CPAAnthropic's Claude Mythos Preview Just Sent Shockwaves Through the Cybersecurity Industry. It's Now Joining Forces with Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Google, and MicrosoftAbout the AuthorManali Pradhan, CFA, is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and industrial sectors. Manali brings prior experience as a healthcare analyst and team lead at Market Realist, a data equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, and a data analyst at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s in finance from Mumbai University.TMFManaBStocks MentionedNvidiaNASDAQ: NVDA$181.77(+2.06%)+$3.67Marvell TechnologyNASDAQ: MRVL$114.45(+4.63%)+$5.07*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.