Nvidia’s $99 Billion Equity Portfolio Shows How Deep Its AI Bet Has Become

Nvidia held $99 billion in equity investments as of July 26, according to its latest earnings report. Business Insider reported that the portfolio grew from about $2.2 billion two summers ago and about $7 billion last summer, turning Nvidia into one of tech’s largest corporate investors.

The holdings included roughly $48 billion in publicly traded stocks and other marketable securities, $48 billion in private-company shares and other non-marketable securities, and $3 billion in equity-method investments. Nvidia also reported a further $25 billion in equity investment commitments as of July 26.

Nvidia’s quarterly disclosure showed a public US stock portfolio that included a $30 billion stake in Intel and a $21 billion position in SpaceX as of June 30. It also held investments in CoreWeave, Coherent, Synopsys, and Nokia, each worth between $2 billion and $5 billion.

The strategy points to Nvidia’s expanding role beyond selling chips: it is also financing and investing in companies tied to the AI ecosystem. That matters because these investments can deepen business relationships while also increasing Nvidia’s exposure to the same AI cycle driving demand for its semiconductors.

Nvidia said in its latest earnings report that it makes equity investments to “enhance our growth opportunities, cultivate our ecosystem, and strengthen our competitive position.” A spokesperson pointed Business Insider to CFO Colette Kress, who said on the company’s latest earnings call that frontier AI labs were “limited by compute” and that Nvidia was “needed to help power this flywheel.”

Business Insider reported that Nvidia had invested almost $50 billion in those labs. The takeaway for readers: Nvidia’s investment activity is closely tied to the computing demand that underpins the broader AI boom.

Nvidia’s stock has climbed from below $15 at the start of 2023 to $228 at Thursday’s close, lifting its market capitalization to $5.5 trillion and making it the world’s most valuable company, according to Business Insider. Its equity portfolio still trails Alphabet’s, which Business Insider reported stood at $232 billion at the end of June, including $94 billion of SpaceX shares following its IPO in June.

But some prominent investors have raised concerns about Nvidia’s approach. Michael Burry has said Nvidia is “overreaching” by financing and investing in customers of its chips, while Mark Cuban has called it “truly scary” how reliant the AI boom is on Nvidia “funding everyone and anyone.”