According to CNBC, Nvidia remains a major investor in the AI ecosystem, committing more than $40 billion to equity investments in AI companies — and that’s just in the early months of 2026.
The majority of that total comes from a single bet, a $30 billion investment in OpenAI. But CNBC reports that the chipmaker has also announced $7 billion of investments in publicly traded companies, most recently signing a deal to invest $3.2 billion in glass maker Corning and up to $2.1 billion in data center operator IREN.
We’ve previously rounded up Nvidia’s investments in AI startups, which include 67 venture deals in 2025. And according to FactSet data, it has already participated in nearly two dozen investment rounds in private startups in 2026.
The fact that Nvidia is investing in some of its customers has led to repeated criticism that these are circular deals moving money back and forth between similar companies.
Wedbush Securities analyst Matthew Bryson said Nvidia’s investments “fit squarely into the circular investment theme”, but suggested that if successful, they could help the company create a “competitive moat”.
