Nvidia has aggressively expanded its influence in the artificial intelligence sector by strategically investing in a diverse array of high-growth startups throughout 2024 and early 2025. From generative media platforms to autonomous robotics and advanced data infrastructure, the chip giant is systematically backing the companies defining the future of the AI ecosystem.
Major AI Infrastructure and Generative Tech
Black Forest Labs: Nvidia participated in a $300 million Series B for the German startup behind the “Flux” image generation models in December. The round, which was co-led by Salesforce Ventures and Anjney Midha (AMP) valued the company at $3.25 billion.
CoreWeave: Although CoreWeave is no longer a startup, but a public company, Nvidia invested in GPU-cloud provider when it was still one, back in April 2023. That’s when CoreWeave raised $221 million in funding. Nvidia remains a significant shareholder.
Together AI: In February, Nvidia participated in the $305 million Series B of this company, which offers cloud-based infrastructure for building AI models. The round valued Together AI at $3.3 billion and was co-led by Prosperity7, a Saudi Arabian venture firm, and General Catalyst. Nvidia backed the company for the first time in 2023.
Firmus Technologies: In September, Firmus Technologies, the Singapore-based data center company, received an AU$330 million (approximately $215 million) in funding at an AU$1.85 billion ($1.2 billion) valuation from investors, including Nvidia. Firmus is developing an energy-efficient “AI factory” in Tasmania, an island state of Australia. The startup originally provided cooling technologies for Bitcoin mining.
Uniphore: In October, Nvidia joined fellow tech giants AMD, Snowflake, and Databricks to lead a $260 million Series F round into this Business AI company. Uniphore’s multimodal platform helps enterprises automate complex workflows and deploy “AI agents” across customer service, sales, and marketing.
Sakana AI: In September 2024, Nvidia invested in the Japan-based startup, which trains low-cost generative AI models using small datasets. The startup raised a massive Series A round of about $214 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion. Sakana raised another $135 million at a $2.65 billion valuation in November, but Nvidia didn’t participate in the round.
Nuro: In August, Nvidia participated in a $203 million funding round for the self-driving delivery startup. The deal valued Nuro at $6 billion, a significant 30% drop from its peak at $8.6 billion valuation in 2021.
Imbue: The AI research lab that claims to be developing AI systems that can reason and code raised a $200 million round in September 2023 from investors, including Nvidia, Astera Institute, and former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt.
Waabi: In June 2024, the autonomous trucking startup raised a $200 million Series B round co-led by existing investors Uber and Khosla Ventures. Other investors included Nvidia, Volvo Group Venture Capital, and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
Strategic Capital Deployments: Deals Exceeding $100 Million
Ayar Labs: In December 2024, Nvidia invested in the $155 million round of Ayar Labs, a company developing optical interconnects to improve AI compute and power efficiency. This was the third time Nvidia backed the startup.
Kore.ai: The startup developing enterprise-focused AI chatbots raised $150 million in December of 2023. In addition to Nvidia, investors participating in the funding included FTV Capital, Vistara Growth, and Sweetwater Private Equity.
Sandbox AQ: In April, Nvidia, alongside Google, BNP Paribas, and others, invested $150 million in Sandbox AQ, a startup developing large quantitative models (LQMs) for handling complex numerical analysis and statistical calculations. The investment increased Sandbox AQ’s Series E round to $450 million and the company’s valuation to $5.75 billion.
Hippocratic AI: This startup, which is developing large language models for healthcare, announced in January that it raised a $141 million Series B at a valuation of $1.64 billion led by Kleiner Perkins. Nvidia participated in the round, along with returning investors Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and others. The company claims that its AI solutions can handle non-diagnostic patient-facing tasks such as pre-operating procedures, remote patient monitoring, and appointment preparation. Hippocratic raised another $126 million at a valuation of $3.5 billion in November, but Nvidia didn’t participate in the round.
Weka: In May 2024, Nvidia invested in a $140 million round for AI-native data management platform Weka. The round valued the Silicon Valley company at $1.6 billion.
Runway: In April, Nvidia participated in Runway’s $308 million round, which was led by General Atlantic and valued the startup developing generative AI models for media production at $3.55 billion, according to PitchBook data. The chipmaker has been an investor in since 2023.
Bright Machines: In June 2024, Nvidia participated in a $126 million Series C of Bright Machines, a smart robotics and AI-driven software startup.
Enfabrica: In September 2023, Nvidia invested in networking chips designer Enfabrica’s $125 million Series B. The startup raised another $115 million in November 2024, but Nvidia didn’t participate in the round. In September, Nvidia reportedly spent over $900 million to hire Enfabrica’s CEO and staff while licensing its technology, in a deal structured as an “acquihire.”
Reka AI: In July, AI research lab Reka raised $110 million in a round that included Snowflake and Nvidia. The deal tripled the startup’s valuation to over $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
