After $1.4B Nuvia Exit, Vets Get Rare Intel x86 License for Stealth RosaicLabs

For venture capitalists, this is a signal: Intel, under Tan's leadership, is willing to license its crown jewels to startups with the right pedigree. Gill's track record of building chip companies that attract big-tech acquirers makes RosaicLabs a startup to watch. The deal's structure—Atom RTL code—gives the startup full design flexibility, potentially slashing time-to-market for custom edge silicon.

Intel has taken the rare step of licensing its x86 processor technology to a stealth-mode startup called RosaicLabs, marking a significant departure from the chipmaker's historically guarded approach to its core intellectual property. The startup, incorporated in Delaware in May 2026, is led by Amarjit Gill, a seasoned venture capital investor and chip industry executive who has a long history of co-investing with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Together, Tan and Gill backed Rivos, a chip startup that was acquired by Meta in 2025, and Nuvia, which Qualcomm purchased for $1.4 billion. Now, with Gill at the helm of RosaicLabs, Intel is providing access to its Atom technology—low-power processor building blocks that are ideal for mobile and edge devices—and plans to deliver register-transfer level (RTL) code, giving the startup deep design flexibility.

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Together, Tan and Gill backed Rivos, a chip startup that was acquired by Meta in 2025, and Nuvia, which Qualcomm purchased for $1.4 billion.

The move is highly unusual for Intel, which has traditionally kept its x86 architecture under tight control, licensing it only to a select few partners like AMD via cross-licensing agreements. The decision to open up Atom technology to an early-stage, secretive startup underscores a strategic pivot under Tan, who took over as CEO in March 2025. Since then, he has emphasized expanding Intel's foundry services and creating new revenue streams from its IP. By offering RTL code, Intel is essentially enabling a new breed of custom chip designers to build specialized processors on top of a proven x86 foundation, rather than forcing them to start from scratch with Arm or RISC-V. This could attract a wave of chip startups that want to avoid the heavy upfront investment in core processor design, while benefiting from the x86 ecosystem's software compatibility.

The team behind RosaicLabs is built for a quick exit. Gill helped Tan assemble the founding team at Rivos, and the startup's incorporation documents were signed by Amit Parikh, former finance chief at Rivos. Many Rivos veterans have joined Rosaic, creating a direct lineage between the two companies. Rivos itself was developing high-performance RISC-V chips before Meta acquired it, reportedly outbidding Intel. The fact that Intel is now backing a startup led by the same circle suggests that Tan is betting on serial entrepreneurship within his network, a pattern that has paid off before. The Nuvia acquisition by Qualcomm, which netted $1.4 billion, is a testament to how valuable a well-timed chip startup can be—and RosaicLabs appears to be targeting a similar play, but this time with Intel's IP as a launch pad rather than Arm's.

For the broader semiconductor industry, this deal signals a potential disruption in the custom chip market. Edge computing, IoT, and embedded systems increasingly require specialized processors that balance performance and energy efficiency. Atom's low-power profile fits that niche perfectly, and by licensing it, Intel could position itself as a platform company akin to Arm, but with the advantage of decades of x86 software support. This could also be a defensive move against the growing popularity of RISC-V, which offers royalty-free ISA but lacks the mature ecosystem of x86. If RosaicLabs succeeds in delivering a commercial product, it could trigger a domino effect, encouraging more startups to approach Intel for similar deals.