You can get VMware ESXi 8 working on an Intel NUC 12th Gen (NUC12DCMi9 Intel NUC Extreme i9-12900 12th Gen)

ESXi 7 doesn't include the correct drivers and needs a custom image if you want to use it.

Be aware that you can only use one of the two inbuilt Network Ports. The lower one is Intel (2.5 GB) and will work with ESXi 8. The upper one is another vendor (10Gbps) and won't be detected by ESXi 8.

Be aware that when installing and booting ESXi 8 with a 12th Gen Intel NUC, you will get an error. You need to implment a workaround

• On boot, press SHIFT+O to edit the boot options.
• Append cpuUniformityHardCheckPanic=FALSE and press ENTER
• It can now boot. You will need to repeat for each boot until you make if permament
• To make the kernel option permanent, log into the web UI of VMware ESXi, enable SSH, then SSH into the server and run the following command on your ESXi host:

# esxcli system settings kernel set -s cpuUniformityHardCheckPanic -v FALSE