In a major move to solidify its grip on the AI infrastructure market, Nvidia announced on Monday, January 26, 2026, a massive $2 billion investment in the “neocloud” provider CoreWeave.
This strategic infusion nearly doubles Nvidia’s stake in the company, positioning the chip giant as CoreWeave’s second-largest shareholder (approximately 11.5% to 13% ownership).
The Deal: Accelerating “AI Factories”
The investment is structured through the purchase of roughly 23 million Class A common shares at $87.20 per share. The capital is specifically earmarked to help CoreWeave secure the two biggest bottlenecks in modern AI: land and power.
- The 5GW Goal: The primary objective is to accelerate the construction of 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2030. For context, 5GW is enough to power roughly 4 million U.S. homes.
- Financial Lifeline: The news provided a much-needed boost for CoreWeave (CRWV), sending its stock up 15–17% on Monday, following investor concerns over the company’s $14 billion debt load.
- Non-GPU Spend: Critically, CoreWeave confirmed the $2 billion will not be used to buy more Nvidia GPUs. Instead, it will fund physical infrastructure, R&D, and workforce expansion.
Strategic Alignment: Beyond Just GPUs
The partnership marks a shift in Nvidia’s role from a mere supplier to a “co-developer” of cloud architecture.
| Feature | Details of the Expanded Partnership |
| First Access | CoreWeave will be among the first to deploy the Nvidia Vera CPU and Rubin platform. |
| Software Validation | Nvidia will test and potentially include CoreWeave’s software (SUNK, Mission Control) in its global reference architectures. |
| Market Expansion | Nvidia will actively market CoreWeave’s AI architecture designs to large enterprise customers and other cloud partners. |
| Standalone CPU | The deal highlights the debut of the Vera brand, Nvidia’s first standalone CPU designed to challenge Intel and AMD in the data center. |
The “Circular Financing” Debate
The deal has reignited discussions regarding “circular financing” in the AI sector—where a dominant player invests in its own customers to sustain demand for its products.
- Jensen Huang’s Stance: In an interview with CNBC, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed these concerns as “ridiculous,” noting that $2 billion is a “small percentage” of the $225–$300 billion CoreWeave actually needs to raise to meet its 2030 goals.
- Revenue Lock-in: Nvidia had already committed in September 2025 to buy at least $6.3 billion in services from CoreWeave through 2032, ensuring a steady revenue floor for the neocloud provider.
Conclusion: Securing the AI Backbone
By investing $2 billion into CoreWeave, Nvidia is effectively “insuring” its future sales. As the world’s most valuable company, Nvidia is using its vast cash reserves to build the very factories that will run its next three generations of chips. With CoreWeave now valued at approximately $47–$50 billion, it has emerged as the primary alternative to “Big Tech” hyperscalers like AWS and Google Cloud for specialized AI workloads.
