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When CoreWeave, an AI cloud computing provider and a major purchaser of Nvidia GPUs, announced its plans to go public at a staggering valuation of $27 billion, one name stood out among its investors: Nvidia.
The semiconductor giant had invested $100 million in CoreWeave in early 2023, and within a year, the company’s valuation skyrocketed from $7 billion to $27 billion. This isn’t an isolated case. Nvidia is not just the backbone of AI computing; it has also emerged as one of the most influential venture capitalists in the AI ecosystem.
From Chipmaker to AI Kingmaker
According to Financial Times, in 2024, Nvidia poured $1 billion into AI startups across 50 funding rounds and several strategic acquisitions, up from $872 million across 39 deals in 2023. This aggressive investment strategy has positioned Nvidia as a key enabler of the AI revolution. With AI companies clamoring for high-performance computing power, Nvidia’s financial support has often coincided with these firms becoming major customers of its GPUs.
As AI adoption accelerates, Nvidia has amassed a war chest of nearly $9 billion in cash, allowing it to not only invest in but also strategically acquire promising AI startups. In 2024 alone, the company made more acquisitions than in the previous four years combined, according to Dealroom data. These deals range from AI infrastructure firms to generative AI pioneers, strengthening Nvidia’s grip on the AI industry.
The Expanding Portfolio: Nvidia’s AI Investments and Acquisitions
Nvidia’s investments span across a wide range of AI applications, including medical technology, robotics, cloud computing, and large language models. Some of its most notable investments in 2024 include:
- xAI – Elon Musk’s AI venture, backed by Nvidia alongside AMD.
- OpenAI, Cohere, Mistral, and Perplexity – Some of the biggest names in AI model development.
- Applied Digital – Nvidia participated in a $160 million funding round to stabilize the struggling company, causing a 65% surge in its share price.
- CoreWeave – A strategic investment that strengthened Nvidia’s position in the AI cloud computing space.
Beyond venture investments, Nvidia has actively pursued acquisitions to strengthen its AI dominance:
- Run:ai – A $700 million acquisition of an AI workload management platform.
- OctoAI (formerly OctoML) – A $250 million deal to enhance AI deployment efficiency.
- Brev.dev – A startup that helps developers find cost-effective GPU computing.
- Shoreline.io – A $100 million deal to enhance AI-driven cloud automation.
- Deci – Acquired for $300 million, focusing on deep-learning model optimization.
- VinBrain – A Vietnam-based AI medical startup, acquired alongside the establishment of Nvidia’s AI research centers in the region.
The Bigger Picture: Why Nvidia is Investing in AI Startups
At first glance, Nvidia’s investment strategy might seem like a bid to diversify revenue streams, but there’s a more calculated approach at play. With major cloud providers like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon developing their own AI chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia, smaller AI startups have become an increasingly crucial customer base. By backing these companies, Nvidia is ensuring that its chips remain central to AI development, regardless of the shifting competitive landscape.
“Nvidia wants there to be more competition in AI, and it makes sense for them to have new players in the mix,” said a fund manager whose portfolio includes several Nvidia-backed startups. The more AI companies that rely on Nvidia’s hardware, the stronger its market position remains.
Regulatory Scrutiny: Is Nvidia’s AI Dominance a Monopoly in the Making?
Nvidia’s growing influence in AI has drawn the attention of regulators worldwide. In the U.S., Europe, and China, antitrust authorities are scrutinizing whether Nvidia’s investments are aimed at achieving exclusivity, potentially limiting competition. Bill Kovacic, former chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, noted that regulators are “keen to investigate” dominant companies making major investments in their own customer base.
Nvidia, however, strongly refutes any claims that its funding is tied to exclusivity agreements. “Every company should be free to make independent technological choices that best suit their needs and strategies,” the company stated. Nvidia argues that its investments help expand the AI ecosystem and accelerate technological progress, benefiting the industry as a whole.
The Future of Nvidia as an AI VC
With AI continuing to reshape industries, Nvidia’s venture investment strategy is likely to expand further. The company’s influence extends beyond supplying chips—it is shaping the future of AI by determining which startups receive funding, which technologies gain traction, and ultimately, how AI infrastructure evolves.
As Nvidia’s acquisitions and investments grow, so too will the scrutiny. Yet, as long as AI companies rely on Nvidia’s technology to power their ambitions, the company will remain at the center of the AI revolution—not just as a hardware supplier, but as one of the most powerful AI venture capitalists in the world.
In the coming years, the line between Nvidia as a chipmaker and Nvidia as an AI empire builder will continue to blur. And if its current trajectory is any indication, Nvidia’s reign as the kingmaker of AI is only just beginning.
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