Hajra Naz
No company has gained more from the AI boom than Nvidia. Since ChatGPT launched over two years ago, Nvidia’s revenue, profits, and cash have exploded. Its stock price has soared too, making it worth about $4.5 trillion.
As the world’s top GPU maker, Nvidia is using its success to invest heavily in startups—especially in AI.
According to PitchBook, Nvidia has joined 50 venture deals in 2025 so far. That’s already more than the 48 deals in all of 2024. These numbers don’t include deals from NVentures, Nvidia’s corporate venture fund, which also boosted its pace. NVentures made 21 deals this year, up from just one in 2022.
Nvidia says its goal is to grow the AI ecosystem by backing startups it sees as “game changers and market makers.”
Below are some of the biggest startups Nvidia has invested in since 2023 — each raising more than $100 million.
The Billion-Dollar Club
OpenAI: Nvidia joined OpenAI’s massive $6.6 billion round in October 2024, reportedly investing $100 million. OpenAI was valued at $157 billion. Nvidia also announced plans to invest up to $100 billion over time as part of a strategic partnership to build large AI infrastructure.
xAI: Despite OpenAI urging investors not to back rivals, Nvidia joined Elon Musk’s xAI $6 billion round in December 2024. Bloomberg says Nvidia will also invest $2 billion in xAI’s next $20 billion round to help buy more Nvidia chips.
Mistral AI: Nvidia invested again in the French AI company’s €1.7 billion ($2B) Series C in September, valuing Mistral at €11.7B ($13.5B).
Reflection AI: In October, Nvidia led a $2 billion round for Reflection AI, valuing the one-year-old startup at $8 billion. It’s seen as a U.S. competitor to China’s DeepSeek.
Thinking Machines Lab: Nvidia joined the $2 billion seed round for former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new company. The deal valued the startup at $12 billion.
Inflection: Nvidia co-led a $1.3 billion round in June 2023 for Mustafa Suleyman’s company. Later, Microsoft hired Inflection’s founders and paid $620 million for its tech license.
Nscale: Nvidia took part in Nscale’s $433 million SAFE round after its $1.1 billion raise in September. Nscale builds data centers for OpenAI’s Stargate project.
Wayve: The U.K. self-driving startup raised $1.05 billion in May 2024 with Nvidia’s help. Nvidia may invest $500 million more.
Figure AI: Nvidia joined Figure AI’s $1 billion Series C in September, valuing the robotics company at $39 billion. It was first invested in February 2024 at a $2.6 billion valuation.
Scale AI: Nvidia joined Amazon, Meta, and Accel in a $1 billion round for Scale AI in May 2024. The company was valued at $14 billion. Later, Meta bought 49% of Scale for $14.3 billion.
The Hundreds-of-Millions Club
Commonwealth Fusion: Nvidia joined an $863 million round in August 2025 for this nuclear fusion startup. Google and Breakthrough Energy Ventures also invested.
Crusoe: Nvidia joined a $686 million round in November 2024 for Crusoe, which builds data centers for Oracle, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Cohere: Nvidia has repeatedly backed the AI model developer Cohere, including its $500 million Series D that valued it at $6.8 billion.
Perplexity: Nvidia first invested in 2023 and joined several later rounds, including a $500 million round in December 2024 that valued the AI search company at $18 billion.
Poolside: Nvidia joined Bain Capital Ventures and others in a $500 million round in October 2024. The company is valued at $3 billion.
Lambda: Nvidia invested in Lambda’s $480 million Series D in February 2024. Lambda rents AI servers powered by Nvidia GPUs.
CoreWeave: Nvidia invested in CoreWeave’s $221 million round in 2023 and still holds a major stake in the GPU-cloud company.
Together AI: Nvidia joined the $305 million Series B in February 2025, valuing the company at $3.3 billion.
Firmus Technologies: Nvidia invested A$330 million ($215M USD) in this Australian data center startup building an energy-efficient “AI factory.”
Sakana AI: Nvidia invested in this Japan-based AI company in September 2024, which raised $214 million to develop low-cost generative AI models.
Nuro: Nvidia backed Nuro’s $203 million round in August 2024. The delivery robot company is valued at $6 billion.
Imbue: Nvidia joined Imbue’s $200 million round in September 2023. The company develops AI that can reason and code.
Waabi: In June 2024, Nvidia joined a $200 million Series B for Waabi, an autonomous trucking startup.
Deals Over $100 Million
Ayar Labs: Nvidia joined the $155 million round in December 2024 to help develop faster optical connections for AI computing.
Kore.ai: Nvidia backed Kore.ai’s $150 million round for enterprise chatbots in December 2023.
Sandbox AQ: In April 2025, Nvidia joined Google and others to invest $150 million in Sandbox AQ, raising its valuation to $5.75 billion.
Hippocratic AI: Nvidia joined the $141 million Series B for this healthcare AI startup in January 2025.
Weka: Nvidia participated in a $140 million round in May 2024 for the AI data management firm, valued at $1.6 billion.
Runway: Nvidia joined Runway’s $308 million round in April 2024, valuing the generative media company at $3.55 billion.
Bright Machines: Nvidia joined a $126 million Series C for this AI robotics company in June 2024.
Enfabrica: Nvidia invested $125 million in September 2023 in this networking chipmaker.
Reka AI: Nvidia joined Reka AI’s $110 million round in July 2024, tripling its valuation to $1 billion.
Nvidia’s Expanding Reach
Nvidia’s investment list shows just how deeply it’s tied to the global AI boom. It’s no longer just a chipmaker—it’s helping build the next generation of AI startups.
Read More: How China Is Advancing to Compete Against Nvidia’s AI Chips
FAQs
1. Why is Nvidia investing in so many AI startups?
Nvidia invests to grow the AI ecosystem and support companies that rely on its GPUs and AI infrastructure.
2. How much is Nvidia worth today?
As of 2025, Nvidia’s market cap is around $4.5 trillion, making it one of the world’s most valuable companies.
3. What is NVentures?
NVentures is Nvidia’s corporate venture arm that invests in emerging tech and AI startups.
4. Which big companies has Nvidia invested in recently?
Some include OpenAI, xAI, Figure AI, Scale AI, and Mistral AI.
5. Does Nvidia only invest in AI companies?
Mostly, yes. But it also invests in data centers, energy startups, and hardware firms that support AI growth.
