The Jaeden Schafer Podcast
Episode: Nvidia Dominates $1B+ AI Startup Power Landscape
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Jaeden Schafer
Overview
In this episode, Jaeden Schafer breaks down Nvidia’s aggressive investment strategy in the AI startup ecosystem and how the company has positioned itself as not only the top supplier of high-performance GPUs but also as a major financier of the AI boom. The episode highlights Nvidia’s deep involvement—through multimillion and even multibillion dollar investments—in virtually every major AI company, and analyzes the “round-tripping” effect of Nvidia funding startups, which then turn around and spend that capital on Nvidia hardware. The underlying theme is the synergy between Nvidia’s venture capital activity and its core business, and how this cycle is shaping the future of AI infrastructure and industry dominance.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Nvidia’s Meteoric Rise (02:00)
- Post-ChatGPT boom: Nvidia’s explosive growth because “all the AI products that followed rely heavily on Nvidia’s chips,” leading the company to become a $4.6 trillion giant.
- They have transformed profits and stock price into “dramatically expand[ed] investing… especially in different AI companies and infrastructure deals.”
2. Investment Numbers & Strategy (03:20)
- In the past year: 67 venture deals, up from 57 the year before (2024).
"According to PitchBook, Nventures completed 30 deals last year compared to just one in 2024." [03:30] - Strategic focus: Growing the AI ecosystem, backing startups “they believe can become true market makers.”
- Notably, Nvidia’s capital returns to itself as startups use it to buy GPUs and infrastructure.
3. Major AI Startup Investments: Detailed Walkthrough (05:00–36:00)
Jaeden provides a list of $1B+ AI raises since 2023 where Nvidia participated, from largest to smallest, and analyzes the context and implications.
a. OpenAI
- First investment: October 2024, reportedly $100M in a $6.6B round; valuation $157B.
- Additional massive strategic partnership: “another hundred billion dollar in infrastructure investments… deal not guaranteed to close as outlined.” (08:00)
- Nvidia’s transparency here is highlighted:
"I do appreciate the clarity from Nvidia calling that out because I don’t feel like anyone else does that." [09:00]
b. Anthropic
- November 2025: Up to $10B as part of a strategic round, with $5B from Microsoft.
- The deal structuring: “Anthropic agreed to spend tens of billions of dollars on cloud, compute and Nvidia hardware… it’s a direct, ‘we give you money, you buy our hardware.’” [10:00]
c. Cursor
- AI code editor; $2.3B Series D, $29.3B valuation; Nvidia’s first shareholding after being a customer. [12:00]
d. xAI (Elon Musk)
- Participated in a $6B round and expected $2B more in OpenAI’s planned $20B raise, with deal structure directing spend toward Nvidia hardware.
- “You can’t tell Nvidia who to not fund because Nvidia is the market maker, it’s a massive $4T company.” [14:00]
e. Mistral AI
- French LLM company, open-source/commercial models.
- Nvidia invested for a third time during a €1.7B ($1.8B) Series C; $13.5B valuation. [16:00]
- “I think they don’t want to just be stuck in the United States. They want to spread out across a lot of the AI companies around the world.”
f. Reflection AI
- US open-source LLM startup. Nvidia led $2B round for the one-year-old company, $8B valuation.
- “They’re positioning themselves as a US counterweight to China’s Deep Seek.” [18:30]
g. Thinking Machine Labs
- Founded by OpenAI’s ex-CTO Mira Murati; $2B seed round ($12B valuation) without a product yet. Nvidia joined “just because it’s Mira Murati, the former OpenAI CTO.” [21:00]
h. Inflection AI
- Raised $1.3B in 2023 with Nvidia backing.
- Later “Acqui-hired” by Microsoft; Nvidia likely got paid back on their investment.
- “For all intents and purposes [Inflection] basically got Acquihired by Microsoft.” [23:30]
i. Crusoe
- AI-focused data centers; $1.4B Series E, $10B valuation, supporting OpenAI Stargate project. [25:00]
j. Nscale
- Builds AI/data centers in Europe; Nvidia in $1.1B round plus $340M SAFE, all tied to OpenAI Stargate. [27:40]
- “It’s crazy the amount of money... Nvidia is building the AI industry and the data center industry because they’re funding so much of it.”
k. Wave
- Autonomous driving AI; $1.01B raised; Nvidia expected to add $500M as testing expands in UK/California. [29:30]
l. Figure AI
- AI for humanoid robots; $1B Series C in Sept (valuation $39B), follow-on from 2024 investment. [31:00]
m. Scale AI
- Data labeling for AI training; $1B round in 2024.
- Meta later acquired 49%; OpenAI and Google pulled out as clients.
- “They employ an insane amount of people, highly specialized, like lawyers, doctors... explaining what it’s used for.” [33:00]
4. Nvidia’s Pervasiveness at All Levels (36:30)
- Not just $1B+ rounds: “There’s a lot more that raised hundreds of millions and Nvidia has jumped in on… just under $100M deals too.”
- Nvidia is “participating at all levels of the industry” and is “one of the major players pushing a ton of capital into these companies, which turn around and give it back to them and help support their company.”
5. Strategic Cycle and Industry Dominance (37:40)
- Nvidia finances the pipeline: “Essentially they’re like financing the entire industry while their stock price goes up so they can continue financing the entire industry and their stock can keep going up. It’s kind of crazy.”
- Some label this “a bubble or cyclical or… round tripping the money,” but Jaeden concludes:
“At the end of the day now they own a massive chunk of tons of the top companies in this massively growing industry.” [38:30]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Nvidia’s transparent dealmaking:
"I do appreciate the clarity from Nvidia calling that out because I don’t feel like anyone else does that." [09:00] -
On the money round-tripping dynamic:
"It’s a direct, ‘we give you money, you buy our hardware.’" [10:00] -
On the scale of infrastructure spend:
"Nvidia is building the AI industry and the data center industry because they’re funding so much of it." [27:40] -
On Nvidia’s strategic dominance:
"Essentially they’re like financing the entire industry while their stock price goes up so they can continue financing the entire industry and their stock can keep going up. It’s kind of crazy." [37:40]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 02:00 – Nvidia’s rise post-ChatGPT, $4.6T valuation
- 03:20 – Year-over-year investment stats, Nventures
- 05:00 – Start of startup-by-startup investment walk-through
- 08:00 – OpenAI infrastructure deal, transparency
- 10:00 – Anthropic investment, strategic round-tripping
- 16:00 – Nvidia’s global reach via Mistral AI
- 18:30 – US/China open-source LLM rivalry: Reflection AI
- 21:00 – Big bets on pedigree: Thinking Machine Labs/Mira Murati
- 23:30 – Inflection AI and Acquihire by Microsoft
- 27:40 – Infrastructure build-out: Nscale, Crusoe, Stargate
- 33:00 – Scale AI and Meta acquisition impact
- 36:30 – Nvidia’s participation in “all levels,” not just unicorns
- 37:40 – “Financing the entire industry” loop
- 38:30 – Strategic implications and industry ownership
Tone and Style
- Jaeden’s language is concise, direct, and lightly skeptical, with touches of humor and realism—he’s focused on “no-hype analysis.”
- The flow is conversational and candid, with practical notes about dealmaking, market movements, and technology implications, plus the occasional personal opinion (e.g., on Mistral’s model quality or the logic of OpenAI discouraging competitor funding).
- The summary matches Jaeden’s pragmatic yet insightful podcast style.
Conclusion
Jaeden Schafer systematically unpacks how Nvidia is leveraging its unprecedented financial and technological strength to invest in—and effectively shape—the AI startup landscape. Their investments do more than accelerate AI; they create a feedback loop where capital, innovation, and hardware spend reinforce Nvidia’s central position at the heart of the industry. The episode provides a clear, no-nonsense synthesis of the biggest names and deals, and leaves listeners with a comprehensive understanding of Nvidia’s near-total dominance in foundational AI infrastructure and finance.