Chip designer ARM is in talks to bring in Nvidia as an anchor investor as it presses ahead with plans for a New York listing as soon as September, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Nvidia is the latest company to hold talks with Softbank-owned ARM to take a long-term stake in the company at its initial public offering. In June, Reuters reported that ARM was talking to more than 10 companies, including existing partners such as Intel.

Nvidia and ARM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two firms are negotiating over valuation, with Nvidia preferring a stake that would value the firm at between US$35-billion and $40-billion, according to one person familiar with the discussions referenced in the Financial Times report.

The source stated ARM is seeking a valuation closer to $80-billion.

Last year, regulators struck down Nvidia’s planned acquisition of ARM worth $66-billion on competition grounds.

This time, Nvidia and ARM have proposed a small minority investment in the low hundreds of millions of dollars and have contacted regulators in advance to allay fears, according to people close to the discussions referenced by the Financial Times. — Rishabh Jaiswal and Anton Bridge, (c) 2023 Reuters