Nvidia is not just about chips; it’s the reigning monarch of the AI investment kingdom. Since ChatGPT flipped the tech world upside down, Nvidia’s fortunes have skyrocketed, and they’ve been spending money like it’s going out of style on AI startups.

Last year was a game changer. NVIDIA leaped into 49 funding rounds for AI companies, a massive jump from 34 in 2023, according to PitchBook. To put this in perspective, they participated in 38 AI funding rounds over the previous four years combined. And this surge doesn’t include the investments from NVentures, Nvidia’s own corporate VC fund, which saw its deal count skyrocket from just 2 in 2022 to 24 in 2024. If this isn’t a ‘we’re in it to win it’ vibe, I don’t know what is.

Let’s break down the big moves. NVIDIA stepped up with $100 million to back OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, in a massive funding spree that raked in $6.6 billion. Joining Elon Musk’s xAI for another $6 billion round raised some eyebrows since he was once the belle of the OpenAI ball. Cyber love triangles are so last season.

In the mix of Nvidia’s bets is Inflection, getting $1.3 billion in their debut round. But plot twist! In a shocking turn of events, Microsoft snatched up Inflection’s founders a few months later for a whopping $620 million, leaving Inflection down on its luck.

And it doesn’t stop there, Wayve, focusing on autonomous driving tech, snagged $1.05 billion from NVIDIA. Tesla may want to keep an eye on that one.

In what seems like an endless money grab, they also backed Scale AI with a cool billion. You can practically hear the cash registers ringing, can’t you?

Venturing further down the AI startup rabbit hole, NVIDIA also threw money at companies like Crusoe, Figure AI, and Mistral, often leading rounds worth hundreds of millions. Are they being generous or just ensuring they’re the real deal behind AI innovation?

With 2025 already in full swing, NVIDIA has already participated in another seven rounds, proving they really mean business in expanding the AI ecosystem. So next time you think about who might be shaping the future of AI, remember that NVIDIA is writing the checks, and the future.