Nvidia pumps over 40 billion dollars into AI partners so far in 2026

Nvidia has invested more than $40 billion in AI companies in 2025, cementing its role as the industry's biggest backer. This week alone, the chipmaker secured the right to invest up to $2.1 billion in data center operator IREN and up to $3.2 billion in fiber optics specialist Corning, CNBC reports. The largest bet remains a $30 billion stake in OpenAI, with additional investments in Anthropic, xAI, CoreWeave, Nebius, Marvell, Lumentum, and Coherent.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an April podcast that his company wants to support "all" foundation model companies rather than pick winners. Others see a pattern of circular investments in these deals—particularly with so-called neoclouds—essentially pre-financing the sale of Nvidia's own GPUs.