Nvidia’s Strategic Investments in AI Startups: A Rapid Expansion

Nvidia has emerged as a frontrunner in the AI revolution, marked by an impressive surge in revenue, profitability, and stock value since the launch of generative AI services like ChatGPT. With a robust financial position, the company has significantly increased its investments, particularly in the AI sector.

Investment Trends and Increase in Activity

In 2024, Nvidia ramped up its venture capital efforts, participating in 49 funding rounds for AI firms, a notable rise from 34 in 2023. This investment spree contrasts sharply with the 38 AI deals Nvidia made over the preceding four years. It’s important to note that these figures exclude contributions from its corporate venture fund, NVentures, which also intensified its focus, engaging in 24 deals in 2024 compared to just two in 2022.

A Vision for the AI Ecosystem

The company aims to foster growth in the AI ecosystem by investing in startups that possess the potential to disrupt markets and be transformative. The following outlines some prominent investments exceeding $100 million that Nvidia has made since late 2023, including those in 2025.

Major Investment Highlights

The Billion-Dollar Club

• OpenAI: Nvidia entered its first investment in OpenAI in October 2023 with a $100 million contribution to a substantial $6.6 billion funding round, valuing the company at $157 billion.
• xAI: Following its investment in OpenAI, Nvidia also participated in a $6 billion funding round for Elon Musk’s xAI.
• Inflection: In June 2023, Nvidia was involved in a $1.3 billion round for Inflection, founded by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, although the startup later faced a significant workforce reduction.
• Wayve: The company supported Wayve’s $1.05 billion round in May 2024, focusing on autonomous vehicle technology.
• Scale AI: Nvidia joined forces with tech giants like Amazon and Meta to invest $1 billion in Scale AI, supporting data-labeling services for AI model training.

The Many-Hundreds-of-Millions Club

• Crusoe: Crusoe raised $686 million, with Nvidia among the investors, aiming to develop data centers for major companies.
• Figure AI: Nvidia participated in a $675 million Series B funding round for this robotics startup.
• Mistral AI: The French developer secured $640 million in Series B funding, with Nvidia investing again.
• Lambda: As part of a $480 million round, Nvidia supported Lambda, which specializes in AI cloud services.
• Cohere: Nvidia’s involvement in Cohere’s $500 million round further highlighted its commitment to AI startups.

Additional Key Investments

• CoreWeave: After raising $221 million in April 2023, CoreWeave has raised its valuation from approximately $2 billion to nearly $19 billion.
• Together AI: The company raised $305 million in February 2024, supported by Nvidia.
• Sakana AI: Nvidia joined the Series A round of about $214 million for this Japan-based startup focused on generative AI.
• Imbue: This AI research lab raised $200 million, supported by Nvidia, in September 2023.
• Waabi: Supported by a $200 million Series B funding round co-led by Nvidia.

Funding Rounds Exceeding $100 Million

• Ayar Labs: Nvidia invested in the $155 million round for this company focused on optical interconnects.
• Kore.ai: In December 2023, this enterprise AI chatbot developer secured $150 million with Nvidia among its investors.
• Hippocratic AI: This startup raised $141 million in January 2024, working on AI solutions for healthcare tasks.
• Weka: Nvidia participated in a $140 million round for an AI-native data management platform.
• Runway: The company raised $141 million in June 2023, aiming at generative AI for multimedia content.

Conclusion

Nvidia’s strategic investments in the AI startup ecosystem reflect both its growth and its commitment to pioneering advancements in AI technology. By backing transformative projects, Nvidia seeks not only to secure its market position but also to contribute to the broader innovation landscape in artificial intelligence.