Nvidia's AI Empire: A Look at Its Top Startup Investments
Saturday, Jan 11, 2025 10:59 am ET
NVDA --
Nvidia, the world's leading high-performance GPU maker, has emerged as a crucial backer of AI startups, investing heavily in the sector over the past two years. The company's market cap and revenue have soared, enabling it to expand its investment portfolio and maintain its dominance in the AI chip market. This article explores Nvidia's top startup investments, highlighting the key sectors and technologies that have received significant funding.

Nvidia's investment strategy in AI startups is driven by several factors, including expanding the AI ecosystem, technological advancements, financial returns, strategic partnerships, and market diversification. By investing in cutting-edge AI technologies and fostering innovation, Nvidia maintains its competitive edge and ensures a steady stream of customers for its hardware.
One of the most notable AI startup sectors that Nvidia has invested in is AI model providers and large language models (LLMs). Some of the most significant investments in this area include:
* OpenAI: Nvidia backed the ChatGPT maker for the first time in October 2023, reportedly writing a $100 million check towards a colossal $6.6 billion round that valued the company at $157 billion.
* Cohere: Nvidia invested in Cohere's $270 million funding round in May 2023 and another round in July 2023, which brought in some $270 million for the startup.
* Mistral AI: Nvidia participated in Mistral AI's $640 million Series B round at a $6 billion valuation in June 2024.
* Perplexity: Nvidia first invested in Perplexity in November 2023 and has participated in every subsequent round of the AI search engine startup, including a round in December 2024 that valued the company at $9 billion.
Nvidia has also invested significantly in AI cloud computing and infrastructure, supporting startups that provide essential services for training AI models. Some key investments in this area include:
* CoreWeave: Nvidia invested $100 million in CoreWeave in early 2023 and joined a $1 billion equity fundraising round by the company in May 2024. CoreWeave's valuation has jumped from about $2 billion to $19 billion, and the company reportedly has sights on a $35 billion IPO.
* Scale AI: In May 2024, Nvidia joined Accel and other tech giants Amazon and Meta to invest in Scale AI, which provides data-labeling services to companies for training AI models. The round valued the San Francisco-based company at nearly $14 billion.
Nvidia's investments in AI robotics and autonomous vehicles have also been substantial, with the company backing startups that are developing cutting-edge technologies in these sectors. Some notable investments in this area include:
* Wayve: In May 2024, Nvidia participated in a $1.05 billion round for the U.K.-based startup, which is developing a self-learning system for autonomous driving. The company is testing its vehicles in the U.K. and the San Francisco Bay Area.
* Crusoe: A startup building data centers to be leased to Oracle, Microsoft, and OpenAI raised $686 million in late November 2024, with Nvidia participating in the investment round.
Nvidia's investments in AI software and tools have also been significant, with the company backing startups that are developing innovative solutions for AI developers. Some key investments in this area include:
* Adept AI: Nvidia participated in a $350 million funding round for Adept AI in March 2023, which focuses on building an assistant that can complete tasks on a computer using software tools.
* Hugging Face: Nvidia participated in a $235 million funding round in Hugging Face in August 2023, which provides open-source AI developer platforms. The round valued the company at $4.5 billion.
* Poolside: In October 2024, the AI coding assistant startup Poolside announced it raised a round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with Nvidia participating in the round, which valued the AI startup at $3 billion.
Nvidia's investments in AI startups have contributed significantly to its ecosystem and market dominance by expanding the AI ecosystem, strengthening its customer base, enhancing its technology and offerings, diversifying its revenue streams, and building strategic partnerships. By investing in cutting-edge AI technologies and fostering innovation, Nvidia maintains its leading position in the AI chip market and drives the growth of the AI industry as a whole.
In conclusion, Nvidia's top startup investments in AI model providers, AI cloud computing, AI robotics, and AI software and tools have been crucial in expanding the AI ecosystem and maintaining the company's market dominance. By backing innovative startups and fostering technological advancements, Nvidia ensures its continued success in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.