Nvidia invested $1bn in artificial intelligence companies in 2024, as it emerged as a crucial backer of start-ups trying to gain from the AI revolution the big tech group’s chips are powering. The semiconductor giant, which surpassed a $3tn market capitalisation in June on the back of huge demand for its high-performing graphics processing units (GPUs), has pumped ever greater sums into some of its own customers in the burgeoning sector. According to corporate filings and Dealroom research, Nvidia spent a total of $1bn across 50 start-up funding rounds and several corporate deals in 2024, compared with 2023, which saw 39 start-up rounds and $872mn in spending. The vast majority of deals were with “core AI” companies with high computing infrastructure demands, and so in some cases also buyers of its own chips. Tech companies have spent tens of billions of dollars on Nvidia’s chips over the past year since the debut of ChatGPT two years ago kick-started an unprecedented surge of investment in AI. Nvidia’s uptick in deals comes after it amassed a $9bn war chest of cash with its GPUs becoming one of the world’s hottest commodities.

Full report : NVIDIA emerges as crucial backer of start-ups seeking to gain from the artificial intelligence tech revolution its chips are powering.