Nvidia invests in company with no product
A major step for AI research funding
1Nvidia's unconventional investment
Nvidia has made a substantial investment in Safe Superintelligence, an AI lab with no products or revenue. Founded by Ilya Sutskever after leaving OpenAI, the company received undisclosed but 'significant' funding from the chip giant in a long-term partnership deal.
2Time to scale research
SSI announced the investment will allow them to 10x their computing power within 12 months. Their statement 'our research is worth scaling' suggests a breakthrough in AI development. Co-founder Daniel Levy emphasized their approach: 'Deep learning happens when a small team operates a big computer.'
3Nvidia's strategic move
Uniquely, Nvidia gained rare access to review SSI's research before investing. The deal includes access to Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform, now at full production - the same infrastructure OpenAI is deploying at scale this quarter, highlighting the industry's supply constraints.
4The circular investment trend
This investment reflects the AI industry's circular funding pattern. SSI will use Nvidia's money to buy Nvidia hardware. Similarly, Nvidia is separately negotiating up to $250B in financing for OpenAI data centers, raising questions about money circulation within the industry.
5Market reaction
Investors reacted negatively, with Nvidia shares dropping 2.3%. Recent massive AI investment announcements now tend to depress rather than boost stock prices, as markets question whether these expenditures will generate external revenue beyond the tech circle.
6Two different bets
SSI's backers bet that a small team with massive computing power will produce unique breakthroughs. Nvidia's safer bet ensures whatever SSI develops will run on Nvidia chips. While SSI's success is uncertain, Nvidia's position guarantees returns regardless of research outcomes.
Original article: The Next Web — Nvidia, ürünü olmayan bir şirkete yatırım yaptı