Nvidia Invests $7 Billion in AI Startup Poolside

Nvidia Corp. agreed to pay $6 billion to license artificial intelligence models from Poolside, a startup specializing in automated computer coding for government and defense software. As part of the arrangement, Nvidia will provide an additional $1 billion investment, bringing Poolside's valuation to $12 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Nvidia will extend job offers to more than 100 Poolside employees. Poolside will remain an independent entity, and its existing backers will receive payouts from the Nvidia funds. The move supports Nvidia's strategy to accelerate AI adoption and promote open-source models to prevent technology concentration and sustain demand for its processors.

This transaction follows a similar $20 billion license agreement Nvidia previously reached with Groq. Lawmakers have criticized this pattern of licensing and investment, suggesting the structure is used to bypass formal merger reviews.