According to CNBC, NVIDIA continues to be a major investor in the AI ecosystem, with over $40 billion in equity investments in AI companies. This is just in the first few months of 2026.
Much of that total comes from a single bet: a $30 billion investment in OpenAI. But CNBC reports that the company has also announced seven multibillion-dollar investments in publicly traded companies, most recently signing deals to invest up to $3.2 billion in glass maker Corning and up to $2.1 billion in data center operator IREN.
We previously summarized Nvidia’s investments in AI startups, including 67 venture deals in 2025. The company has also already participated in about 20 investment rounds in private startups in 2026, according to FactSet data.
The fact that Nvidia invests in some of its own customers has led to repeated criticism that these are circular transactions that move money back and forth between the same companies.
Matthew Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said Nvidia’s investment “fits squarely into the cyclical investing theme,” but suggested that if successful it could help build a “competitive moat” for the company.
