NVIDIA Invests in Applied Digital, Expanding AI Investments to Broaden Its Ecosystem

NVIDIA, a leading AI semiconductor company, is investing in Applied Digital, which provides AI-based digital infrastructure solutions, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday. Despite recent market monopoly concerns about NVIDIA, the company is expanding its ecosystem by increasing investments in AI-related companies.

The WSJ report indicates that NVIDIA will participate in a funding round in which Applied Digital plans to issue common stock to raise $160 million. Although the exact amount of NVIDIA’s investment has not been disclosed, the company is expected to invest alongside the real estate firm Related Companies.

Applied Digital specializes in building and leasing data centers and has recently started AI cloud computing operations powered by NVIDIA chips. The company’s CEO, Wes Cummins, stated, “We have done a lot with NVIDIA, and our combination of cloud and data center capabilities sets us apart. The investment funds will support the company’s growth and debt financing.”

NVIDIA’s increasing investments in AI-related companies have been drawing attention lately. It was recently reported that NVIDIA plans to invest in Sakana AI, a Japanese startup founded by former Google AI researchers in July last year. NVIDIA participated in Sakana AI’s latest funding round, which raised over $100 million. Sakana AI focuses on automating the development of foundational AI models, using NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform to build state-of-the-art foundational models.

Additionally, NVIDIA is considering a $100 million investment in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The WSJ highlighted that, amidst the AI surge, NVIDIA is expanding its investment efforts to bolster a corporate ecosystem reliant on its chips and to advance cutting-edge AI technologies. Last year, NVIDIA’s number of investments tripled compared to the previous year.