Arthur Mensch of Mistral AI, Jensen Huang CEO of Nvidia, on stage at Vivatechnology, in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. (Photo by AUGUSTIN PASQUINI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Augustin Pasquini | Afp | Getty Images
Nvidia has become something of an AI kingmaker as hyperscalers race to develop AI capability. It also has cash to spend and has increased its investments in European startups.
Last year, Nvidia participated in 14 rounds for European tech companies, according to deal counting platform Dealroom, compared to seven in 2024, five in 2023, one in 2022 and none in 2021 or 2020.
The 14 European investments were among 86 seed rounds it invested in globally that year.
Nvidia has launched a charm offensive within the industry as it seeks to deepen its ties with some of the world’s most promising companies, offering technical expertise and supply chain assistance, as well as cold hard cash.
The trend continued in 2026, with British AI startup Synthesia announcing on Monday that Nvidia had participated in the company’s development project. $200 million, Series E.
The chip giant’s spending spree is part of a broader move to deepen its ties with the world’s most promising startups, as it seeks to consolidate its position as a leader in AI.
“Nvidia’s investments in European AI companies appear to reflect its broader global strategy of reclaiming its excess cash and reinvesting in the AI ecosystem through a host of startups,” Brian Colello, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC.
These are all European tech companies that Nvidia, or its venture arm NVentures, invested in last year and the total size of the round it participated in., per trading room.
Mistral
Round: 1.7 billion euros, September
One of Europe’s leading AI labs, French startup Mistral builds models aimed at rivaling those produced by OpenAI and Google. Before participating in the Mistral 1.7 billion euros Series C round in September, which valued the company at €11.7 billion ($13.6 billion), the chip giant invested in the AI company’s Series B in 2024.
Nescale
Towers: $1.1 billion, September and $433 million, October
Nscale, which builds data centers and provides AI cloud computing services, has been courting Nvidia throughout 2025, with the chip giant’s CEO Jensen Huang announcing in September he would invest £500 million in the company. The UK-based startup quickly announced two roundsboth featuring Nvidia, in late September and early October.
Quantum
Round: $600 million, September
Quantum computing company Quantinuum announced a new fundraising round, backed by Nvidia, in September which saw it valued at 10 billion dollars. This increase will support continued progress toward the upcoming launch of the company’s next-generation quantum computing system, Helios.
Kind
Round: $330 million, December
Nvidia took part in mood coding startup Lovable’s Series B in Decemberwhich allowed it to reach a valuation of $6.6 billion. One of Alphabet’s VC divisions and Menlo Ventures led the round.
Black Forest Laboratories
Round: $300 million, December
German AI lab Black Forest Labs, which develops pioneering AI models for visual content, announced a $300 million raise in December at a valuation of $3.25 billion. Nvidia participated, alongside A16z, General Catalyst and Salesforce Ventures.
N8n
Round: $180 million, October
In October, Nvidia joined N8n’s Series C round, valuing it at $2.5 billion, alongside venture capital firms Accel, Meritech and Redpoint. The German startup automates business workflows.
CuspAI
Round: $100 million, September
British company CuspAI is building an AI materials discovery platform and has secured investment from Nvidia in a $100 million round announced in September.
PolyAI
Round: $86 million, December
NVentures participated in PolyAI’s $86 million Series D in December. The British startup develops AI voice assistants for customer service. NVentures previously backed the company in a $50 million Series C round in May 2024.
Therapeutic charm
Round: $80 million, September
British biotech company Charm Therapeutics announced an $80 million raise, along with Nvidia, in September. The chip giant had already invested $20 million in the company in 2023.
Glittering Photonics
Round: 50 million euros, September
Scintil Photonics is a fabless semiconductor company developing silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), designed to solve data transfer bottlenecks in AI data centers. Nvidia participated in the French company’s September Series B alongside Bosch Ventures, Bpifrance and Innovacom.
PhysicsX
Round: $20 million, November
The UK-based company develops an AI platform that helps manufacturing organizations simulate physics in the design of physical systems. Nvidia invested $20 million in the company in November, with the right to commit an additional $80 million to the startup’s next funding round.
Cassava technologies
Round: Undisclosed amount, October
British company Cassava Technologies, which provides internet services and data center infrastructure in Africa, announced that Nvidia had invested shares in the company in October.
Revolution
Round: Undisclosed amount, November
THE fintech giant announced that Nvidia purchased shares of the company at a valuation of $75 billion in November. UK-based Revolut is Europe’s most valuable startup.