NVIDIA (NVDA, Financial), a global leader in high-performance GPU manufacturing, has significantly increased its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) startups. In the past two years, the company has participated in over five billion-dollar AI funding rounds, aiming to support startups considered "game changers and market creators."
According to PitchBook data, NVIDIA participated in 49 AI company funding rounds in 2024, up from 34 in 2023, and surpassing the total of 38 rounds over the previous four years. In comparison, Alphabet was involved in 73 rounds, while Microsoft participated in 40 over the past two years.
Some of NVIDIA's notable AI investments include:
- OpenAI: In October 2023, NVIDIA invested $1 billion in a $6.6 billion funding round.
- xAI: Following its investment in OpenAI, NVIDIA participated in a $6 billion funding round for Elon Musk's xAI.
- Inflection: In June 2023, NVIDIA was a major investor in a $1.3 billion funding round for Inflection, focusing on machine learning and generative AI.
- Wayve: In May 2024, NVIDIA invested in a $1.05 billion funding round for the UK-based autonomous driving startup.
- Safe Superintelligence: In September 2024, NVIDIA participated in a $1 billion funding round for this new venture by OpenAI's chief scientist.
- Scale AI: In May 2024, NVIDIA, along with other tech giants, invested $1 billion in Scale AI, an AI company providing high-quality training data.
NVIDIA's aggressive investment strategy underscores its commitment to advancing AI technologies across various applications, including large language models, autonomous driving, and robotics.
