Nvidia To Acquire PhysX Developer Ageia

Graphics technology company Nvidia has announced it is acquiring gaming physics company Ageia to bring the latter's PhysX solutions to Nvidia's GeForce graphics hardware cards. Nvidia notes that PhysX software is currently being used in "more than 140 PhysX-based games shipping or in development on Sony Playstation3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Gaming PCs," with "over 10,000 registered and active users of the PhysX SDK." Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed with Nvidia's release, and the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions. It's unclear which elements of Ageia's dual hardware and software physics approach - including PPU chipsets - will be integrated into Nvidia's line going forward. Company president and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said of the deal, "The Ageia team is world class, and is passionate about the same thing we are—creating the most amazing and captivating game experiences. By combining the teams that created the world's most pervasive GPU and physics engine brands, we can now bring GeForce-accelerated PhysX to hundreds of millions of gamers around the world." "Nvidia is the perfect fit for us. They have the world's best parallel computing technology and are the thought leaders in GPUs and gaming. We are united by a common culture based on a passion for innovating and driving the consumer experience," said Manju Hegde, co-founder and CEO of Ageia.