Nvidia backs five more UK startups in latest European push
Nvidia has taken minority stakes in five UK startups, according to Sifted, which reported the news today without disclosing valuations or ticket sizes.
The move comes after Nvidia’s $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face in August and its backing of Nscale, the UK cloud startup that filed for a NYSE IPO last month. If Nvidia’s $2 billion European fund—announced alongside deals with 14 startups—focuses on later-stage companies, these five investments could indicate a shift toward seeding earlier-stage ventures to deepen reliance on its hardware and software stack, particularly as competitors like Wafer seek to challenge its dominance.
UK policy may be playing a role. On 10 October, the government confirmed plans to ease non-compete clauses, a change that could make it easier for startups to attract talent from larger players. Whether these five startups will align with Blackwell, Nvidia’s next-generation hardware, or remain platform-agnostic remains unclear.
The approach resembles trends seen elsewhere, where strategic investors often take stakes in startups to shape infrastructure layers. In Europe, the strategy may be expanding—less about immediate returns, more about influencing the foundation for future AI models.
Sources: sifted.eu
“Nvidia’s latest UK bets signal a potential widening of its European strategy, possibly targeting earlier-stage startups to reinforce ecosystem ties ahead of Blackwell’s rollout.”
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