Arbitrum Withdraws from Nvidia's Accelerator Program After Refusal to Collaborate with Crypto Companies

According to The Block, the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum Foundation has announced its withdrawal from Nvidia-backed Ignition AI Accelerator Program. This decision came after the chip giant requested not to mention the collaboration in crypto-related announcements. Previously, both parties were set to establish an exclusive partnership, with Arbitrum becoming the sole Ethereum ecosystem representative in the AI acceleration program. A spokesperson for the Arbitrum Foundation stated that Nvidia's recent change in stance, despite being willing to maintain the collaboration, prohibits public disclosure, indicating a lack of long-term commitment to the crypto space. The accelerator program was initially going to provide AI development guidance and cloud service credits to Arbitrum. It is noteworthy that another blockchain, Aptos, still maintains a partnership with the accelerator. The foundation emphasized that the decision to withdraw was driven by business considerations, and in the future, they will choose partners who "fully support blockchain innovation."