Nvidia isn’t just riding the AI wave—it’s helping build the ocean.
Since ChatGPT exploded onto the scene in late 2022, Nvidia has become the heartbeat of the AI revolution. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) have powered everything from foundation models to data-labeling platforms—and the company’s revenue, profits, and stock price have surged in lockstep.
But beyond chips, Nvidia has been writing checks. Big ones.
In 2024 alone, Nvidia participated in 49 funding rounds for AI startups—up from 34 the year before, according to PitchBook. That’s more than the total number of deals it made in the previous four years combined. And that doesn’t even count the deals made by its dedicated VC arm, NVentures, which has also gone into overdrive (jumping from 2 deals in 2022 to 24 in 2024).
As of mid-2025, Nvidia has already backed seven more startups—and there’s no sign of slowing down.
So why the investment blitz?
According to Nvidia, the goal is simple: accelerate the entire AI ecosystem by backing “game changers and market makers.”
Below, we break down every startup Nvidia has backed since 2023 in rounds of $100 million or more—sorted by total raised, starting from the biggest checks.
THE BILLION-DOLLAR CLUB
OpenAI ($6.6B round)
Nvidia entered OpenAI’s cap table in October 2023 with a $100M investment in a jaw-dropping $6.6 billion round. That round valued OpenAI at $157 billion. Thrive Capital led the pack with a $1.3B stake.
xAI ($6B round)
Elon Musk’s rival to OpenAI got a boost from Nvidia, despite its prior OpenAI investment. Nvidia joined a long list of investors in xAI’s $6 billion mega-round.
Inflection AI ($1.3B round)
Led by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, Inflection secured one of 2023’s biggest AI checks—with Nvidia as a lead investor. Just months later, Microsoft hired the core team and paid $620M for a tech license, leaving Inflection in limbo.
Wayve ($1.05B round)
UK-based Wayve, building self-learning autonomous driving software, secured over $1 billion in May 2024. Nvidia joined the round as it tests AI-driven cars across the UK and the Bay Area.
Scale AI ($1B round)
In May 2024, Nvidia teamed up with Accel, Amazon, and Meta to inject $1 billion into Scale AI, a key player in AI data labeling. The round valued the San Francisco-based firm at nearly $14 billion.
THE HUNDREDS-MILLIONS ROUNDS
Crusoe Energy ($686M round)
This startup builds AI-ready data centers and reportedly works with Oracle, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Nvidia joined the massive Series C in November 2024.
Figure AI ($675M round)
In February 2024, Figure raised $675M from Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, and others to build humanoid robots. Valuation: $2.6 billion.
Mistral AI ($640M round)
Nvidia doubled down on Mistral in 2025, joining a $640M Series B that values the French LLM developer at $6 billion.
Lambda ($480M round)
AI cloud infrastructure startup Lambda raised $480M in February. Nvidia joined ARK Invest and Andra Capital in backing the round, which valued the company at $2.5B.
Cohere ($500M round)
Nvidia backed this enterprise-focused LLM provider again in June 2025. Cohere’s round brought its valuation close to $5B.
Perplexity ($500M round)
Nvidia hasn’t missed a single Perplexity round since first investing in late 2023. The AI search engine startup is now valued at $9 billion.
Poolside ($500M round)
This Paris-based coding assistant raised half a billion in October 2024, led by Bain Capital Ventures. Nvidia joined in, helping value the company at $3 billion.
CoreWeave ($221M+ multiple rounds)
CoreWeave, which lets customers rent Nvidia GPUs on demand, has grown into a $19B cloud powerhouse. Nvidia first invested in its $221M round in 2023.
Together AI ($305M round)
Nvidia returned to invest again in February 2025, helping bring Together AI’s valuation to $3.3 billion.
Sakana AI ($214M round)
Based in Japan, Sakana trains smaller, low-cost LLMs. Nvidia joined its Series A in 2024, valuing the company at $1.5B.
Imbue ($200M round)
This AI research lab raised $200M in September 2023 with backing from Nvidia, Astera, and others. It’s focused on reasoning-capable AI systems.
Waabi ($200M round)
Nvidia joined Uber and Khosla Ventures in a $200M round for Waabi, an autonomous trucking startup, in June 2025.
THE $100M+ CROWD
Ayar Labs ($155M round)
Nvidia’s third investment in this optical interconnect startup came in December 2024. Ayar aims to reduce power consumption in AI compute.
Kore.ai ($150M round)
Enterprise AI chatbot developer Kore.ai closed a $150M round with Nvidia’s support in late 2023.
Sandbox AQ ($150M extension)
Alongside Google and BNP Paribas, Nvidia invested in a Series E extension for Sandbox AQ, bringing the round to $450M.
Hippocratic AI ($141M round)
Nvidia joined Kleiner Perkins, a16z, and others in a Series B to fund AI that handles healthcare-related non-diagnostic tasks.
Weka ($140M round)
Weka, a data platform tailored for AI workloads, raised a $140M round in May 2025. Nvidia was among the investors.
Runway ($141M round)
This GenAI darling builds creative tools for video and design. Nvidia participated in its 2023 Series C alongside Google and Salesforce.
Bright Machines ($126M round)
Smart robotics meets AI at Bright Machines, which raised a fresh $126M Series C in mid-2024.
Enfabrica ($125M round)
Nvidia joined Enfabrica’s September 2023 Series B to support its network chip design for AI data centers.
Final Thoughts
No tech company has invested in the AI ecosystem more aggressively—or strategically—than Nvidia.
It’s not just betting on GPUs and training power. It’s placing calculated bets across the stack: cloud infrastructure, models, data, robotics, healthcare, chips, and creative tools.
And with over $50B in annual revenue and momentum still building, don’t expect the investment engine to slow down anytime soon.
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