Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is reportedly in discussions to invest in AI startup Perplexity at a valuation exceeding $30 billion. The proposed deal underscores the chipmaker’s strategy of backing companies that build their businesses on Nvidia infrastructure.

According to The Information, Nvidia is discussing participation in Perplexity’s next funding round. This follows Perplexity’s announcement last month that it plans to deploy Nvidia’s new Vera CPUs for AI agent workloads. The startup found these chips significantly outperformed traditional server processors for some core tasks.

A Pattern of Strategic Investments

The reported investment fits a pattern where Nvidia backs companies heavily reliant on its hardware. Nvidia’s latest Form 13F shows CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) remains one of its largest publicly disclosed equity holdings. Earlier this year, Nvidia invested another $2 billion in CoreWeave while deepening their infrastructure partnership.

CoreWeave is deploying multiple generations of Nvidia technology, including Rubin GPUs, Vera CPUs and BlueField networking. Other disclosed holdings include stakes in Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ: NBIS), Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC), Nokia Corp (NYSE: NOK) and Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS).

Private Portfolio Expansion

Nebius has emerged as another AI infrastructure company expanding cloud capacity around Nvidia GPUs. This gives the chipmaker exposure through both chip sales and equity positions. The pattern extends to private investments in startups including Fireworks, Sarvam, Safe Superintelligence Inc. and Firmus.

Many of these businesses deploy Nvidia hardware directly or build products designed to run on Nvidia-powered AI infrastructure. As companies like Perplexity, CoreWeave and Nebius expand AI infrastructure and inference workloads, they create additional demand for accelerated computing platforms.

What the Numbers Show

The overlap between Nvidia’s equity portfolio and its customer base is significant. Every company listed in the table above is both an investee and a user of Nvidia infrastructure. This creates a reinforcing cycle where Nvidia benefits from hardware sales while gaining exposure to the growth of those same businesses through selective equity investments.

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) has struck a multibillion-dollar agreement with startup Poolside to develop a powerful open-weight artificial intelligence system. The deal positions the chipmaker to compete directly with major AI rivals including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Chinese developers DeepSeek and Kimi.

Deal Structure and Valuation

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nvidia will pay $6 billion to license Poolside’s AI technology. Additionally, the company will invest another $1 billion in the startup at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.

The transaction involves significant talent acquisition as well. More than 100 Poolside employees, including engineers, are expected to join Nvidia. These personnel will work on the company’s Nemotron open-weight AI project.

Poolside stated that the deal aims to advance artificial general intelligence (AGI) as an open technology rather than one controlled by a few entities. Founders Eiso Kant and Jason Warner will remain outside Nvidia while continuing unspecified research work, keeping the startup independent.

Strategic Focus on Open Models

The agreement underscores CEO Jensen Huang’s growing focus on open-weight AI models. Unlike closed models, open-weight systems can be downloaded, customized, and deployed more flexibly.

Nvidia has increasingly backed open AI efforts as Chinese models gain ground. In March, the company launched its Nemotron Coalition, bringing together open-model developers to share expertise, data, and computing resources.

This move puts Nvidia in direct competition with Chinese open-model developers such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI’s Kimi. It also potentially challenges US AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Market Reaction

Nvidia shares closed at $214.72 on Friday, down 0.98%. The stock rose 0.31% to $215.38 in after-hours trading.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Nvidia ranks in the 99th percentile for Growth and holds positive short-, medium-, and long-term price trend ratings.

What the Numbers Show

The $7 billion total commitment ($6 billion license fee plus $1 billion equity investment) against a $12 billion pre-money valuation indicates Nvidia is securing control over core technology rather than just taking a minority stake. This structure suggests a strategic priority on integrating Poolside’s engineering talent and IP directly into Nvidia’s Nemotron ecosystem to counter competitive threats from both US and Chinese rivals.