The move comes less than a decade after its acquisition of Israeli-based Mellanox, also in northern Israel, which transformed the entire AI industry and made the AI revolution possible.

Industry sources told Reuters that the project could cost billions of dollars and create thousands of jobs. The world's most valuable company by market capitalization has set a July 23 deadline for offers to build its campus of up to 180,000 square meters (1.94 million square feet).

Officials familiar with the matter told Reuters that Nvidia received "dozens and dozens and dozens" of offers from municipalities and other entities, not all located near Haifa. The company's current Israeli operations are based in Yokne'am, situated near the northern port city of Haifa, where numerous technology companies maintain facilities.

Nvidia acquired its Israel presence in 2020 through the purchase of Mellanox Technologies for nearly $7 billion. The company has since expanded its workforce dramatically, nearly tripling in size since the acquisition. According to Reuters, sources indicated that Mellanox contributed $13 billion in revenue to Nvidia last year, though the company has not confirmed this figure.

The Haifa municipality expressed confidence in its bid for the new campus. Officials told Reuters that they are "currently busy preparing an attractive offer for the company" and believe they represent "the city with the best potential for them."

The expansion comes as major technology companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Tesla compete to build AI data centers and dominate the emerging technology sector. This competition has led to a surge in demand for Nvidia's high-end processors, driving the company's remarkable growth trajectory.

One source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Israel's expertise was "extremely important to the AI era" and that Nvidia needed to expand rapidly to meet demand. The company now employs 5,000 workers in Israel and has made several additional acquisitions in the country over recent years.

Nvidia has also constructed Israel's most powerful AI supercomputer, which served as a blueprint for Elon Musk's Colossus supercomputer. The facility demonstrates the company's commitment to maintaining cutting-edge infrastructure in the region.

Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, described the planned campus as massive and capable of housing "a few thousand employees." He told Reuters that "Nvidia sees its operation in Israel as something which is going to stay here for a very long time and to expand here."

"This declaration is a sign of confidence in Israel," Bin added, according to Reuters.

The expansion announcement comes as rival Intel faces challenges in the region. Intel, which has operated in Israel since 1974 and employs 9,350 workers, has begun trimming its workforce globally. Israeli media reported that several hundred workers in Israel are being made redundant, though a local spokesperson declined to comment on specific numbers.

The spokesperson only referenced Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's April comments that the company was "taking steps to become a leaner, faster and more efficient company," according to Reuters.

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Chabad on Campus International has launched a new initiative called #CampusforBibas, according to a press release issued Tuesday. The campaign aims to honor the memory of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, two young children who, along with their mother Shiri Bibas, were murdered by Hamas after being taken hostage on October 7.

The initiative, as detailed in the release from Chabad on Campus, encourages Jewish male students to wrap tefillin and Jewish female students to light Shabbat candles. "This initiative was born from the painful reality that Kfir and Ariel will never get to grow up and put on tefillin, and Shiri will never again light Shabbat candles for her family," said Rabbi Avi Weinstein, Chabad on Campus International COO.

According to the organization, the campaign represents more than just remembrance – it serves as a declaration of Jewish resilience. The press release emphasized, "Every mitzvah done in their name is a declaration that the Jewish people will never be extinguished."

The Bibas family's situation has resonated deeply within Jewish communities worldwide. The press release cited social media responses, including one user who wrote, "The thought of Kfir and Ariel never reaching their bar mitzvah broke me. I will put on tefillin every day for them." Another person reportedly commented, "My daughter and I will light Shabbat candles for Shiri. Her light will not be lost."

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A total of 79 civil rights, religious and education organizations called on Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) president Tim Sands to reject a resolution recently passed by graduate students that supports an academic boycott of Israel.

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Virginia Tech's Graduate and Professional Student Senate approved a resolution on Oct. 21 that supports a boycott of "all Israeli academic institutions complicit in maintaining the Israeli occupation and the denial of basic Palestinian rights" and divestment from "all institutional investments from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation and apartheid."

In an email to Sands on Tuesday organized by AMCHA Initiative, the organizations cited a statement he issued last week in which he defended "free speech rights" in response to the resolution.

"What your statement failed to address is that you and the Virginia Tech administration have the same free speech rights, which include the right to reject and condemn the resolution," said the groups, which include B'nai B'rith International, StandWithUs, and the Zionist Organization of America.

"More importantly, your statement failed to recognize the possibility that GPSS members, many of whom serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants, may implement elements of the academic boycott on campus and in their own classrooms in ways that would directly and substantively harm undergraduates on your campus, particularly those who are Jewish and pro-Israel. We urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that this does not happen at Virginia Tech."

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The groups also noted that the resolution calls on supporters to end academic exchange programs in Israel; refuse to write recommendation letters for students wanting to study in Israel; and cancel Israel-related educational activities and events. They noted that "all of these actions directly subvert the educational opportunities and academic freedom of undergraduate students who want to study about or in Israel."

The groups additionally asked Sands to affirm his commitment to ensuring that "no student will be impeded from studying about or in Israel, or be subject to unfair discrimination or harassment, because of the implementation of such a boycott on your campus."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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In a letter to UMass chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, the organizations also requested that in the future, UMass faculty will be prohibited from using the university's name or resources to further their own personal or political agenda.

"This is not an educational event but a political rally," stated the letter. "Rather than aiming to promote an understanding of a highly contentious and polarizing issue by including speakers with a variety of perspectives, this event includes speakers with only one extremely partisan perspective and clearly aims to promote a political cause and encourage political action."

"Providing the imprimatur of three academic departments to such a politically motivated and directed event violates the core academic mission of the university, suppresses student expression and impedes the free exchange of ideas so essential for any university," it continued.

The May 4 event, titled "Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech & the Battle for Palestinian Rights," is being organized by the NGO Media Education Foundation (MEF), whose director, Sut Jhally, is also a UMass professor and chair of the communication department.

The groups alleged that Jhally's actions violate the UMass Amherst Principles of Employee Conduct.

It will include a panel and a discussion of "recent attacks on [Minnesota] Rep. Ilhan Omar and other progressives who have spoken out against Israel's 50-year military occupation of Palestinian land and criticized pro-Israel pressure groups for conflating legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with 'anti-Semitism.' "

Speakers will include supporters of the anti-Israel BDS movement, including musician Roger Waters, Women's March leader Linda Sarsour, and professor and former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill.

The event is being sponsored by three UMass departments: the Department of Communication; the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the Resistance Studies Initiative UMass.

"Although we recognize that the event itself is protected by the First Amendment, we believe that its department sponsorship constitutes an unacceptable violation of the university's academic mission, will encourage acts of politically motivated aggression and violence on your campus, and is a fundamental breach of the public trust," stated the groups.

"We call on you to rescind all university sponsorship of this event and to assure us that in the future, UMass faculty will not be permitted to use the university's name or resources to promote their personal political agendas at the expense of academic integrity and the safety and well-being of UMass students."

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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