Provided the ARM juggernaut is expected to streamroll Intel's business in the coming decade, this acquisition does make sense for Intel... this could be their Facebook+WhatsApp moment.

If Nvidia gets torpedoed by regulators, it’s hard to see how Intel stands a chance

Intel has significant experience in managing cross-license agreements (see x86, x64).

This is getting into fantasy chip designer territory, but what are the chances that Intel makes a hybrid x86-ARM chip?

If Nvidia was blocked from acquiring ARM, then I certainly think that Intel would be blocked as well. Plus, Intel does not need to actually acquire ARM to start making ARM processors. For example, Apple has done just fine licensing ARM IP just like everybody else.

To be clear, Apple is not licensing ARM IP "just like everybody else". They have a very different relationship, being a founding shareholder, and then acquiring an "Architecture License" from ARM after also acquiring PA Semi according to Wikipedia.

So Apple Silicon is not the same as someone else licensing ARM IP.

Source? According to Wikipedia, quite a few companies have an architectural license with ARM, including Intel and AMD. Maybe Apple gets a discount?

Apple may have been a founding member, but they don’t own ARM, and I’m assuming that ARM still wants to make a profit off of its licenses to Apple.

Intel indeed already is a large ARM licensee (and for a while even was the largest one, funnily enough)

But that was a good investment for its long term Gamepass/Xbox plan. Or are you saying Microsoft can buy it?