Nvidia is reportedly investing up to $1 billion in Poolside (techcrunch.com)

Nvidia is reportedly preparing a major follow-on investment in Poolside, the startup that builds AI models for software development. Bloomberg sources say Nvidia plans to put in at least $500 million and could increase that to $1 billion if Poolside completes the rest of a $2 billion funding round at a $12 billion valuation. This would add to Nvidia’s earlier backing of Poolside in its $500 million Series B in October 2024 and continues the chipmaker’s aggressive deployment of capital into AI software and adjacent sectors. For the AI/ML community, the deal signals deeper alignment between leading GPU provider and a company focused on developer-facing models (code generation, automation and related tooling). A large Nvidia investment likely accelerates Poolside’s model scale and optimization for Nvidia hardware, encourages tighter hardware–software co-design, and could shift competitive dynamics among code-assistant and devops model vendors. Strategically, it fits Nvidia’s broader pattern of using investments to secure software ecosystems that drive demand for its chips, raising implications for model training infrastructure, cloud partnerships, and standards for performance-tuned developer models.