NVIDIA planning to invest up to $1B in AI startup Poolside: Report
As per a Bloomberg report, NVIDIA is planning to commit an initial $500m—rising to as much as $1bn—to Poolside’s new round, as the chipmaker has chalked up a $5T valuation and outlined $500bn in AI chip bookings.
As per a Bloomberg report citing sources, Nvidia is planning to invest up to $1 billion in Poolside, the Paris‑based artificial intelligence startup building coding assistants, in a new funding round that could lift the company’s valuation sharply.
The chipmaker will reportedly commit about $500 million, with scope to double that amount depending on the round’s progress.
The proposed investment is part of Nvidia’s continued strategy of backing AI software players that can stimulate demand for its accelerated computing stack.
What is Poolside?
Poolside builds tools that help write and improve code, an area where access to large‑scale compute is critical to product development and deployment.
It has been developing AI assistants aimed at speeding software engineering tasks, and previously raised capital from a mix of venture and strategic investors, including NVIDIA, in 2024.
This includes a $500 million Series B in October 2024 led by Bain Capital Ventures, which lifted its valuation to around $3 billion at the time.
The company is co‑founded by Jason Warner and Eiso Kant, with Warner serving as president/CEO. Today’s report has suggested Nvidia could deepen that relationship materially via the new round.
$5T milestone
Earlier this week, NVIDIA reached a historic milestone, becoming the first company to surpass a $5 trillion market capitalisation amid intense demand for AI infrastructure.
The company also said it has secured about $500 billion in orders for its AI processors and has announced plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy. CEO Jensen Huang framed these moves as part of a broader shift to “AI factories” worldwide.