Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares fell more than 3% to around $217 in afternoon trading Monday, as reports of a multibillion-dollar investment in power-infrastructure developer Lancium added to investor scrutiny of the chipmaker's expanding role in financing the artificial intelligence buildout.
The reported deal, first covered by The Information, would see Nvidia invest $2 billion for a 20% stake in Lancium, with an option to invest an additional $1 billion if certain milestones are met. Lancium is the developer behind the Stargate AI campus in Texas, a project involving OpenAI and Oracle.
This investment is part of a broader pattern: FactSet data shows Nvidia made 66 private-company investments across 2025 and 2026. The company is increasingly using its cash to back businesses tied to the AI infrastructure boom, a move that some investors view as a double-edged sword—supporting demand for its chips while raising questions about concentrated risk.
Financing role expands
Separately, the Financial Times reported that Nvidia is working with a consortium of major financial groups—including Apollo Global, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, and KKR—to assemble a $500 billion funding package for AI infrastructure. The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, according to sources briefed on the talks.
This partnership underscores Nvidia's efforts to help raise capital for itself and its customers as companies build the chips, power infrastructure, and data centers needed for the AI boom. Nvidia has also provided financial backing to help AI partners raise debt in capital markets, which can support demand for its products by easing customer financing.
However, the interconnected nature of these transactions has raised concerns about concentrated risks within the AI infrastructure market. Nvidia is no longer just a chip supplier; it is increasingly helping finance and develop the ecosystem that purchases its products.
SpaceX deal bolsters position
Nvidia had rallied over the past week, partly on news that Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to build its AI infrastructure exclusively around Nvidia's Vera Rubin architecture. Musk called it the best architecture during SpaceX's latest earnings call, reinforcing Nvidia's position as a preferred supplier and easing some concerns about competition from rival chipmakers and custom-designed processors.
Morningstar said Nvidia now fits the profile of a growth-at-a-reasonable-price investment and maintained its $280 fair value estimate.
Earnings in focus
Investor attention is increasingly turning to Nvidia's earnings report, scheduled for August 26. Analysts expect earnings per share of $2.09, representing 98.6% growth from a year earlier, and revenue of $91.8 billion, up 96.3% year over year.
Beyond the headline figures, investors will focus on management commentary about customer demand, order trends, data-center spending, and adoption of next-generation processors. Nvidia's expanding investment activity is likely to remain a key area of focus as investors assess whether such deals are helping strengthen the AI ecosystem and ultimately supporting demand for its chips.
Investors are also expected to scrutinize so-called circular AI deals, in which technology companies invest in AI startups or infrastructure projects that subsequently use funding to purchase chips and cloud services. These structures could potentially inflate demand if spending remains concentrated among a relatively small group of technology companies.
The reported Lancium investment, alongside Nvidia's broader financing initiatives, adds another dimension to the debate over the company's role in the AI boom. Nvidia is not only supplying the chips powering the buildout but also helping finance and develop the infrastructure required to deploy them.
For more on Nvidia's recent moves, see SpaceX's AI chip pick and AI capex surge lifts outlook.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
