Nvidia's $70 billion bet on OpenAI, Anthropic, and others could pay off big for shareholders

Nvidia's $70 billion bet on OpenAI, Anthropic, and others could pay off big for shareholders

Brian Sozzi · Executive Editor

Wed, August 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• NVDA +2.64%
• SPCX +5.90%

Arguably, no one has more at stake than Nvidia (NVDA) in the AI boom.

Next-gen companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX) are clamoring for Nvidia's high-powered computing chips, which are at the heart of the investment thesis on the company.

But investors should also consider the formidable investment portfolio Nvidia now holds. When companies like OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) inevitably go public at stratospheric valuations within the next year, Nvidia's early backing of these companies stands to drive additional value for its shareholders.

The Nvidia investment portfolio

Nvidia has committed to directly providing $70 billion in equity investments into ecosystem partners, per new research from Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya. Recent investments include $30 billion in OpenAI, up to $10 billion in Anthropic, and $5 billion in Safe Superintelligence.

"Overall, we view Nvidia's $70 billion investments as easily manageable given its ability to generate as much as about $470 billion of free cash flow over just the next two years (2026-2027), or about 15% of free cash flow," Arya wrote. "In other words, we see no issue in Nvidia returning 50% of free cash flow to shareholders as it has committed to in May 2026."

AlphaSpace stat to know: $236.54

Nvidia's stock has been quietly gaining steam ahead of its Aug. 26 earnings report, notching a 4% gain in the past month. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 2.4% during that same stretch.

With that rally in the mix, Nvidia shares are only about 5% below the $236.54 52-week high, per Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace analysis.

(NVDA )

Go deeper with AlphaSpace

223.24 +5.74 (+2.64%)

As of 11:40:26 AM EDT. Market Open.

The bottom line

If there is any reason to proceed with caution ahead of Nvidia's earnings, it's that the market is positioned for the company to post something great and for CEO Jensen Huang to sound super bullish on the earnings call. They also know there is minimal downside risk to Nvidia's investment portfolio, given the rising valuations being afforded to most privately held names in AI.

Arya explained, "The stock has come under pressure following the last April 4 and June 10 earnings, as expectations are elevated. However, we remain positive on potential with Nvidia's next-gen Vera Rubin product cycle in further cementing the company's about 70% industry share."

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast, and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.

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