Nvidia’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence investments shows no signs of slowing. The chip giant has quickly outpaced Microsoft and Google, solidifying its role as the most active backer of AI startups.
Just last month, Lambda, a startup that provides powerful computing services and hardware designed for AI training, secured a massive $480 million Series D funding round. The deal valued the company at $2.5 billion. On that same day, Together AI, a platform empowering developers to build with open and custom AI models, raised $305 million at a striking $3.3 billion valuation.
What tied these deals together? Nvidia’s involvement.
For those tracking the AI race since Microsoft’s blockbuster multibillion-dollar OpenAI deal two years ago, Nvidia’s growing dominance shouldn’t come as a surprise. While Microsoft’s move initially sparked a wave of Big Tech investment in AI, Nvidia has since taken the lead — not only participating in more funding rounds but also backing some of the highest-valued deals in the sector.
Nvidia’s Relentless Investment Surge
Crunchbase data reveals that Nvidia participated in 26 funding rounds last year alone, with the total value of those deals soaring to $18.8 billion. This marks a massive leap from its 24 deals in 2023, which reached $4.5 billion. However, it’s worth noting that Nvidia’s numbers were boosted by two mega deals: xAI’s $6 billion round and OpenAI’s staggering $6.6 billion raise.
Beyond those headline-grabbing investments, Nvidia also backed Wayve, a London-based self-driving startup, in its $1.1 billion round, and Scale AI, a data labeling and evaluation platform, which secured $1 billion at a jaw-dropping $13.8 billion valuation.
What’s remarkable is how AI investment is shaping Nvidia’s broader corporate strategy. Back in 2022, Nvidia joined just nine startup funding rounds. But in the past two years, it ramped up dramatically — participating in 36 deals annually.
Nvidia’s venture arm, NVentures, also stayed active, albeit on a smaller scale. Last year, NVentures joined 14 rounds totaling $89 million, slightly above its 2023 activity of 11 deals worth $824 million combined.
Microsoft and Google Play Catch-Up in AI Startup Race
While Nvidia’s AI investment streak keeps accelerating, Microsoft seems to be slowing down.
In 2023, Microsoft participated in 12 AI startup deals worth $12.2 billion. Last year, that figure dipped slightly to nine investments totaling $10 billion. Interestingly, some of Microsoft’s biggest bets overlap with Nvidia, such as investments in OpenAI, Wayve, Figure, and Bright Machines.
However, Microsoft made a notable splash with its $1.5 billion strategic investment in G42, an AI firm based in the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, M12, Microsoft’s venture arm, maintained a steady pace — investing in 10 deals worth $268 million last year, just slightly below its 2023 total of $442 million across nine deals.
So far this year, Microsoft has taken a step back, participating only in a small pre-seed round for GuidenAI — a signal the tech giant might be shifting its focus toward internal AI development rather than external startup investments.
The biggest surprise, though, comes from Google.
Google’s corporate investment in AI startups plunged dramatically last year. The search giant backed only four deals worth just $3.2 million — a sharp drop from 2023, when it invested in 12 deals totaling nearly $3.6 billion. Its largest contribution last year was co-leading a $2.8 million seed round for CharacterX.
However, Google’s venture arm, GV, took a more aggressive approach. GV joined 22 deals worth $1.5 billion, including a $250 million Series E for Vercel, which builds cloud-based web app development tools, and a $400 million Series D for Lightmatter, a startup innovating with light-based chip connectivity for deep learning.
Nvidia Stays the Course as Google Ramps Up and Microsoft Pauses
Interestingly, Google seems ready to ramp back up in 2024. In January, it poured another $1 billion into Anthropic, a key rival to OpenAI, adding to the $2 billion it had already invested. Last month, Google also backed Apptronik, a company building AI-powered humanoid robots, in a $350 million Series A led by B Capital and Capital Factory.
On the other hand, Microsoft’s recent retreat suggests a strategic pivot. Its complex relationship with OpenAI — acting as both partner and competitor — appears to be nudging the company towards internal development. Meanwhile, alliances with firms like SoftBank and Oracle could signal shifting priorities.
Nvidia, however, is showing no signs of pulling back. The company continues fueling the AI ecosystem it dominates with its market-leading chips — and reaping the rewards of shaping the next wave of AI innovation.
While strategies evolve, one thing is clear: Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google still have deep pockets. Their investments continue powering ambitious AI startups determined to carve out their place in this booming industry.
