If you've never heard of ARM, well, you probably should have - ARM CPU's are found in almost every mobile phone and tablet device out there today. Developed in the 1980's by UK computer firm Acorn, it's since gone on to be one of the most popular CPU architectures in the world.

Now Nvidia, the company best known in these parts for these little-known devices known as graphics cards, have eyes on purchasing the company that today holds the rights to ARM, Arm Holdings.

Nvidia produces ARM chips under license in it's GPU-accelerated server lineup. Currently ARM chips are produced under license by various manufacturers, including Nvidia, under license, unlike Intel who produce their silicon themselves.

As such the deal is far from certain, as other licensees have raised concerns over the deal. Theoretically Nvidia could opt to become the sole manufacturer or ARM CPU's in the world and would stand to profit - however, these concerns aren't necessarily founded, and Nvidia already has strong third party relationships. 

The purchase, if it did go ahead, is unlikely to have much Impact on their GPU business, however it would play strongly into their datacentre and server products, along with their efforts in automotive technology and IoT devices.

As said there's nothing confirmed other than initial talks at this stage, so the deal might not go ahead, but if it did, this would be a huge step into the microprocessor space for Nvidia.