The race to build AI infrastructure just got a lot more interesting. Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) have announced a strategic partnership that puts Marvell directly inside Nvidia's AI factory ecosystem. Nvidia is also backing the deal with a $2 billion investment in Marvell.
MRVL stock surged almost 13% yesterday, valuing the chipmaker at a market cap of $86.6 billion. For investors watching MRVL stock, the deal raises an obvious question: Is this the catalyst that takes shares to the next level?
What the Nvidia-Marvell AI Deal Means
The partnership is built around Nvidia's NVLink Fusion platform: a rack-scale system that lets companies build custom artificial intelligence infrastructure using Nvidia's ecosystem. Under the agreement, Marvell will supply custom XPUs (accelerator chips) and scale-up networking that plug into the NVLink Fusion architecture. Nvidia brings its Vera CPU, ConnectX network cards, BlueField data processing units, NVLink interconnect, and Spectrum-X switches.
Put simply, Marvell makes the specialized silicon and connectivity, and Nvidia ties it all together into a full AI compute stack. The two companies will also collaborate on silicon photonics technology and work together to turn global telecom networks into AI infrastructure via Nvidia's Aerial AI-RAN for fifth- and sixth-generation networks.
"The inference inflection has arrived," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. "Together with Marvell, we are enabling customers to leverage NVIDIA's AI infrastructure ecosystem and scale to build specialized AI compute."
Marvell Chairman and CEO Matt Murphy added that the deal connects Marvell's strengths in optical DSP, silicon photonics, and custom silicon directly to Nvidia's growing AI ecosystem.
Marvell Is Growing at a Steady Pace
Marvell has been quietly building one of the most compelling AI infrastructure businesses in the semiconductor sector.
In its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, the company posted record revenue of $2.22 billion, up 22% year-over-year (YoY). Its data center segment grew 21% to $1.65 billion, driven by surging demand for optical interconnects, custom chips, and switching products.
For the full fiscal year, Marvell's data center revenue surpassed $6 billion, growing 46% YoY. Its custom chip business doubled in that same period.
Looking ahead:
- Marvell is projecting fiscal 2027 revenue of nearly $11 billion, up from the $10 billion it had guided to just three months earlier.
- It expects data center revenue to grow roughly 40% in fiscal 2027.
- For fiscal 2028, the company is targeting close to $15 billion in total revenue, with data center growth accelerating closer to 50% YoY.
- Non-GAAP earnings per share could exceed $5 in fiscal 2028 based on those projections, according to the company's earnings call.
"We're very much on track to those targets that we had set," Murphy said during the call.
Is MRVL Stock a Buy After the Nvidia Partnership?
The Nvidia investment and partnership add a new layer to an already-strong growth story.
Marvell had already secured design wins with three Tier 1 U.S. hyperscalers for its active electrical cable products and expects combined AEC and retimer revenue to more than double YoY in fiscal 2027. Its optical interconnect business is growing at roughly 50% annually.
Now, with Nvidia's $2 billion backing and a formal role in NVLink Fusion, Marvell gains access to Nvidia's vast customer base: hyperscalers and model builders building the AI factories Huang described.
The risks are real.
- Marvell's custom chip business is concentrated among a small group of large customers.
- And as margins on full rack-scale system sales tend to run lower, investors should watch gross margin trends closely.
Still, the combination of record bookings, rising revenue guidance, and now a formal Nvidia partnership gives Marvell a clear runway heading into the next phase of the AI buildout. For investors comfortable with semiconductor-sector volatility, the case for MRVL stock looks increasingly hard to dismiss.
What Is the MRVL Stock Price Target?
Analysts tracking MRVL stock forecast revenue to increase from $8.2 billion in fiscal 2026 (ended in March) to $25 billion in fiscal 2031. In this period, adjusted earnings per share are projected to expand from $2.84 to $10.27.
If the tech stock is priced at 25x forward earnings, it could more than double over the next four years.
Out of the 35 analysts covering MRVL stock, 25 recommend “Strong Buy,” three recommend “Moderate Buy,” six recommend “Hold,” and one recommends “Strong Sell.” The average Marvell stock price target is $119.53, above the current price of $105.
