Nvidia has become a prolific backer of European AI startups, but the departure of CEO Jensen Huang casts doubt over the company’s future support of the region’s ecosystem.
The US chip giant has embarked on a startup binge in recent years, backing nearly every major frontier lab and completing 296 VC deals since 2023, according to PitchBook data. In Europe, Nvidia was involved in €11.5 billion (about $12.7 billion) in deals this year, including AI lab Mistral AI‘s €3 billion Series D and autonomous driving startup Wayve‘s $1.2 billion Series D. In total it has been involved in €18.1 billion worth of deals in the region to data.
Nvidia’s frenetic pace of dealmaking—one roughly every three days this year, per PitchBook—is unlikely to last as Colette Kress takes the reins as interim CEO. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kress, who remains CFO, had previously questioned some of Huang’s dealmaking. This reportedly includes large-scale bets on OpenAI and AI infrastructure companies.
London-based neocloud startup Nscale was a significant beneficiary of Nvidia’s spending spree. Nvidia most recently participated in its $2 billion Series C in March and supported its $3.4 billion raise via convertible loan notes in September. The Information reported that Nvidia was in talks to provide billions of dollars in credit guarantees for debt that Nscale would use to develop a data centre for Anthropic, but no deal has been signed yet.
Nvidia’s ambitions for European AI were laid out earlier this year when Huang announced a roughly $10 billion commitment to building up its ecosystem. Last month, the company announced 13 planned investments in startups across the UK, Germany and France. One of the bets, physical AI startup Agile Robots, disclosed a $500 million Series F on Thursday (Nov. 12), but the details of many of the deals have yet to be announced.
Huang’s departure is unlikely to derail Nvidia’s AI ambitions. It could, however, slow the flow of capital to startups that have leaned on the company’s support. Overall, in Europe, nearly €50 billion has been invested in AI startups this year, according to PitchBook data, up over 70% from 2025 before the year has ended.
Any stumbles during Nvidia’s leadership transition could, however, present opportunities for competitors. UK-based chip developer Fractile has positioned itself as a rival in the AI inference space and announced a $720 million Series C on Wednesday at a $7 billion valuation. UK photonic chip startup Olix is another company aiming to take on Nvidia and, in August, raised a $312 million Series B at a $3.3 billion valuation.
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