Nvidia’s $189 Billion AI Push Faces Its First Test Without Jensen Huang

Nvidia invested $189 billion in AI startups in 2026, and new interim CEO Colette Kress now faces questions about how the company will invest without Jensen Huang.

Less than 24 hours into the post-Huang period, the private-market consequences remain unsettled. A week earlier, AI without Huang seemed impossible. Investors now face a leadership test that could alter how capital, chips and valuations move through the AI market. The outcome is not settled.

What changes in Nvidia’s dealmaking?

In the near term, the central question is how Nvidia and Kress will handle dealmaking. Nvidia’s 2026 commitments were concentrated in three names: OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI accounted for $172 billion, while 27 other deals made up the remaining $17 billion.

Rolfes expects Nvidia to invest less for now, and Kress or any successor could be more circumspect than Huang.

Harrison Rolfes, PitchBook senior research analyst, framed the stakes:

“Nvidia matters more to private AI markets than any single investor because it has three roles. It’s the largest corporate investor in U.S. AI. It’s the main supplier for AI startups, and it’s the main [benchmark] public stock investors use to judge the AI market.”

For startups, the supplier role can matter as much as the investor role because Nvidia supplies the chips on which new AI products run. Kress’s near-term posture will show whether the company keeps funding companies at Huang-era scale or adopts a more selective pace.

One transaction remains unsettled: Nvidia’s $12.93 billion buyout of open-source startup Hugging Face had not closed. It gives Kress an immediate test of whether to proceed with a major AI acquisition while she leads the company and a permanent chief executive remains unresolved.

Takeaway: Nvidia’s next investment decisions will set the pace for private AI funding.

Which companies face the sharper financing risk?

Neoclouds face the sharpest strain because Huang served as their dealmaker and guarantor. An early-stage venture capitalist said firms dependent on Nvidia to bankroll them, such as CoreWeave and Lambda Labs, could end up badly exposed. Their financing now leans more directly on Nvidia’s future appetite for investment.

Meanwhile, Anthropic’s IPO remains high-stakes but, for now, very much on. Some venture capitalists expect Huang’s departure to pressure AI valuations, though others see little reason to change course.

Rob Biederman, managing partner at Asymmetric, put the contrarian view this way:

“I think the valuations were ridiculous anyway. I don’t think it would be the worst thing for the tech world if there was a little bit of a reset shakeout because a lot of things are getting funded right now that aren’t especially good ideas.”

His argument treats a valuation reset as selection rather than systemic failure. Huang’s departure adds one more reason to ask which business models can withstand a reset, even as Anthropic’s IPO continues.

Takeaway: Companies tied most closely to Nvidia face more financing risk than the broader startup market.

Can startups build without new Nvidia cash?

Rolfes advised startups not to approach Nvidia for investment cash in the short term. Compute comes first.

He said GPU prices could fall, which would let founders buy chips and build out products. If cheaper hardware allows them to reach that stage, he expects more seed-stage and Series A startups to move up.

That sequence gives startups a route forward even if Nvidia writes fewer checks. It also shifts the near-term test from access to Nvidia capital toward access to computing capacity. Cheaper GPUs could matter more to a founder than another injection of corporate capital.

Takeaway: Lower GPU prices could help smaller startups advance even as Nvidia slows its investment pace.

What should private-market investors watch next?

Three signals will frame the transition:

• Nvidia’s next investment commitments under Kress, including whether the $12.93 billion Hugging Face buyout closes.
• GPU prices, which Rolfes expects could fall while Nvidia invests less.
• Anthropic’s IPO, which remains active while private AI valuations absorb Huang’s departure.

None of those signals resolves the uncertainty around private AI without Huang. Together, they will show whether private AI funding is slowing or repricing, and whether founders can secure cheaper compute without new Nvidia capital.

Takeaway: The private-market answer will emerge from investment pace, chip prices and IPO progress.