Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, VCs warn of AI funding hole
Original title: Jensen Huang’s departure blasts big hole in AI startup funding, VCs and founders say
Investors say Huang drove Nvidia's startup checks, and interim CEO Colette Kress is expected to invest more conservatively.
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has stepped down after 33 years. Venture investors told TechCrunch his exit could cut capital for AI startups he personally backed, including neoclouds and open-weight labs. PitchBook data cited in the report says Nvidia joined 105 rounds this year, often as the largest check. Interim CEO Colette Kress is described as more conservative on those bets. Few investors expect the slowdown alone to stop the broader AI boom.
Unconfirmed: Any funding pullback is investors' expectation, not a stated Nvidia policy.
- Cited PitchBook data says Nvidia joined 105 startup rounds this year.
- Nvidia agreed to buy Hugging Face for $13 billion, expected to close in 2027.
- It backed CoreWeave, Crusoe's $1.4 billion Series E, Mistral AI, Lambda, and Black Forest Labs.
- The Journal reported an $800 million Nvidia check in Reflection AI's $2 billion Series B.
- Umesh Padval said many significant investment decisions came from Huang himself.
From the original article
4 min read at techcrunch.com
Nvidia poured tens of billions into AI startups under Huang. Without him at the helm, founders and VCs are bracing for smaller checks and lower valuations.
By Marina Temkin, Dominic-Madori Davis · techcrunch.com
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