Nvidia has been the runaway leader in the new artificial intelligence (AI) boom. It has greatly increased its medtech investment profile by leading and participating in a series of funding rounds for a number of well-known startups. Over the past year, Nvidia has committed substantial capital to emerging companies, reflecting its strategy to dominate the AI landscape. That aggressive investment, in turn, has led to very high valuations, a testament to the power of these game-changing companies.
Nvidia co-led a dazzling $2 billion Series A round for Reflection AI. That massive influx of cash raised the company’s valuation up to $8 billion. This investment represents one of the largest votes of confidence in Reflection AI’s potential to do big things within the fast-evolving AI landscape. Nvidia was obviously most instrumental in Cohere’s $500 million Series D funding round. That funding round valued the company at an astonishing $6.8 billion. Together, these investments further cement Nvidia’s interest in developing the next generation of AI technologies that can transform every industry.
Diversified Investment Portfolio
Nvidia’s investment strategy is distinguished by a shotgun investment approach to dozens of startups. The most notable investment is a recent $150 million commitment to Sandbox AQ. This small but ambitious startup is driven by the vision of creating big quantitative models that can change the way businesses and governments analyze data and make decisions. This investment not only enhances Sandbox AQ’s growth prospects but aligns with Nvidia’s vision of integrating advanced AI solutions into various sectors.
Nvidia leapt into Figure AI’s Series C funding round, which exceeded $1 billion. This investment brought the total amount invested in the company to an incredible valuation of $39 billion. The $70 million investment reflects Nvidia’s belief that Figure AI will play a major role in producing the next generation of AI-powered solutions. Nvidia and Figure AI are working together to pioneer innovative frontiers in AI capabilities. This collaboration is sure to yield tremendous value to both organizations and the industries they serve.
Continuing this strategic pattern, Nvidia was a participant in Inflection’s $1.3 billion funding round this past June 2023. This investment is part of Nvidia’s larger mission to foster startups pushing the boundaries of AI innovation. Nvidia backs Inflection to diversify its own portfolio. This collaboration is meant to hone in on those companies whose work is at the forefront of artificial intelligence.
Pioneering Collaborations
Nvidia seems to have placed every bet on the incumbent. Simultaneously, it’s cradling dynamic new upstarts that are creating revolutionary new technologies. Tucked among these is Together AI, in which Nvidia led a $305 million Series B round. This investment is consistent with Nvidia’s ongoing strategy of investing early in the most frontier-oriented teams pursuing the most innovative work.
In case you missed it — in May 2024, Nvidia led Scale AI’s record-setting $1 billion funding round. This shift deepened Nvidia’s dominance in the emergent AI ecosystem. Scale AI specializes in providing data labeling services crucial for training AI models, making it an essential partner for Nvidia as it develops more sophisticated AI solutions.
The other big investment of note is, of course, Mistral AI’s enormous €1.7 billion Series C round, valuing the startup at a staggering $13.5 billion. Mistral AI takes a radically different approach to machine learning and artificial intelligence. With Nvidia’s greater engagement, its growth trajectory is going to soar upward quickly. This partnership exemplifies how Nvidia is strategically aligning itself with companies that are expected to drive innovation in the AI space.
Significant Valuations and Future Prospects
As a result of Nvidia’s investments spins, the valuations of these portfolio companies have seen 2–15x returns. This increase demonstrates that the market has tremendous faith in their futures. Take Runway, one of the leading generative AI startups that just raised $308 million in funding — it’s been able to achieve a valuation of $3.55 billion. Runway focuses on creative applications of AI, making it a valuable ally for Nvidia as it seeks to expand its influence in various sectors.
On top of these investments, Nvidia led Lambda’s $480 million Series D round, bringing the company’s valuation to $2.5 billion. Lambda specializes in tools for machine learning and AI development, complementing Nvidia’s core business in graphics processing units (GPUs) tailored for AI workloads.
Notably, Nvidia participated in Thinking Machines Lab’s remarkable $2 billion seed round, which has set the company’s valuation at $12 billion. This investment further highlights Nvidia’s commitment to supporting early-stage innovations. It’s a reflection of the company’s confidence in the transformative potential of Thinking Machines Lab’s AI research and development methodology.
