Investors say Nvidia may reduce AI startup investments in the short term after Jensen Huang steps down
Jensen Huang’s departure blasts big hole in AI startup funding, VCs and founders say
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has formally stepped down, and multiple investors and founders say his departure will leave a huge gap in financing for AI startups. According to PitchBook, Nvidia has participated in 105 funding rounds this year and was often the largest investor; it previously invested in CoreWeave, Crusoe ($1.4 billion Series E), Mistral AI, Lambda and Black Forest Labs, and acquired Hugging Face for $13 billion (expected to close in 2027); according to The Wall Street Journal, last year it also put $800 million into Reflection AI's $2 billion Series B. Interim CEO Colette Kress is seen by investors as more conservative, and Nvidia is expected to be more selective about new investments and to write smaller checks for its existing portfolio, with valuations possibly declining as a result; some investors hope large cloud providers and chipmakers will fill the gap, but few believe the investment slowdown itself will end the AI boom.
The article summarizes multiple investors' views on the direction of startup financing and valuations, and provides specific data on Nvidia's investments in recent years, which can serve as background for observing changes in the industry's capital landscape.