No company has leveraged the AI revolution as effectively as Nvidia. Since the launch of ChatGPT over two years ago, the tech giant has experienced an unprecedented surge in revenue, profitability, and stock value. With the rapid growth of generative AI services, Nvidia has aggressively expanded its investments, particularly in AI startups, capitalizing on the booming demand for high-performance GPUs.
Nvidia’s Expanding AI Portfolio
In 2024, Nvidia significantly ramped up its venture capital activities, participating in 49 AI funding rounds, a sharp rise from 34 in 2023, according to PitchBook data. This marks a dramatic increase compared to the previous four years, during which Nvidia engaged in only 38 AI deals combined. Notably, these figures exclude investments from NVentures, its formal corporate VC arm, which has also ramped up its funding efforts—participating in 24 deals in 2024, compared to just two in 2022.
In 2025 alone, Nvidia has already been involved in seven funding rounds.
According to the company, its strategic investments aim to expand the AI ecosystem by backing startups that are “game changers and market makers.” Below is a list of AI startups that have raised over $100 million with Nvidia’s backing, organized from the largest to smallest funding rounds.
The Billion-Dollar Rounds
OpenAI – $6.6 Billion (October 2024)
Nvidia made its first investment in OpenAI, contributing $100 million to a massive $6.6 billion round that valued the ChatGPT maker at $157 billion. Despite its investment, Nvidia’s contribution was overshadowed by Thrive’s $1.3 billion investment, as reported by The New York Times.
xAI – $6 Billion (2024)
Elon Musk’s xAI secured a $6 billion funding round with Nvidia as a participant. This raised eyebrows since Nvidia had recently invested in OpenAI, a direct competitor.
Inflection AI – $1.3 Billion (June 2023)
Co-founded by DeepMind’s Mustafa Suleyman, Inflection AI received $1.3 billion from investors, including Nvidia. However, in a surprising twist, Microsoft later hired Inflection’s founders, acquiring a non-exclusive technology license for $620 million, leaving the company’s future uncertain.
Wayve – $1.05 Billion (May 2024)
The UK-based autonomous driving startup secured a $1.05 billion round, with Nvidia joining the investment. Wayve is actively testing its AI-powered self-learning vehicle system in the UK and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Scale AI – $1 Billion (May 2024)
Nvidia joined forces with Amazon, Meta, and Accel to invest $1 billion in Scale AI, a data-labeling service provider for training AI models. The San Francisco-based company is now valued at nearly $14 billion.
Hundreds of Millions in AI Investments
Crusoe – $686 Million (November 2024)
Nvidia was among the investors in Crusoe, a startup building data centers for OpenAI, Microsoft, and Oracle. The round was led by Founders Fund.
Figure AI – $675 Million (February 2024)
This AI robotics startup secured $675 million from Nvidia, OpenAI Startup Fund, and Microsoft, pushing its valuation to $2.6 billion.
Mistral AI – $640 Million (June 2024)
Nvidia doubled down on Mistral AI, investing for the second time as the French-based LLM developer secured $640 million at a $6 billion valuation.
Lambda – $480 Million (February 2024)
AI cloud provider Lambda, which rents out Nvidia GPU-powered servers for model training, raised $480 million in a Series D round, backed by Nvidia and ARK Invest.
Cohere – $500 Million (June 2024)
Nvidia invested in Cohere, a Toronto-based enterprise-focused LLM provider, during its $500 million funding round.
Perplexity – $500 Million (December 2024)
Nvidia has participated in every Perplexity funding round since November 2023, with the latest $500 million round pushing its valuation to $9 billion.
Poolside – $500 Million (October 2024)
The AI coding assistant startup Poolside raised $500 million, with Bain Capital Ventures leading the round. Nvidia was among the investors.
CoreWeave – $221 Million (April 2023)
CoreWeave, an AI cloud computing provider, raised $221 million with Nvidia’s backing. Since then, its valuation has surged from $2 billion to $19 billion, and the company has filed for an IPO.
AI Startups Raising Over $100 Million
Together AI – $305 Million (February 2024)
Nvidia participated in Together AI’s $305 million Series B, which was co-led by Prosperity7 and General Catalyst.
Sakana AI – $214 Million (September 2024)
Japan-based Sakana AI specializes in training low-cost generative AI models and secured a $214 million Series A at a $1.5 billion valuation.
Imbue – $200 Million (September 2023)
The AI research lab developing AI systems for reasoning and coding raised $200 million with backing from Nvidia and former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt.
Waabi – $200 Million (June 2024)
Autonomous trucking startup Waabi raised $200 million in a round co-led by Uber and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Nvidia and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
Hippocratic AI – $141 Million (January 2024)
Nvidia backed Hippocratic AI, a healthcare-focused AI startup, in its $141 million Series B led by Kleiner Perkins.
Weka – $140 Million (May 2024)
AI-native data management platform Weka raised $140 million, with Nvidia investing in the round.
Bright Machines – $126 Million (June 2024)
Nvidia invested in Bright Machines, an AI-driven robotics and software startup, during its $126 million Series C round.
Nvidia’s aggressive investments in AI startups highlight its commitment to shaping the AI ecosystem. As demand for high-performance AI computing grows, these strategic investments will likely strengthen Nvidia’s dominance in the market. With billions poured into AI-driven companies, Nvidia is positioning itself as a key player in the future of artificial intelligence.
