Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang used a two-stop European tour this week to announce planned investments in nine startups across the UK and France, meet French President Emmanuel Macron, and pledge $250 million of computing power to British AI safety research. The flurry of announcements lands days before Nvidia's GTC Berlin conference opens on October 20, where Huang is due to deliver a keynote.
Five British bets, from drug discovery to quantum
At a London event on October 14, Huang unveiled planned minority investments in five British startups: Boltz, Foresight, Hiverge, Prima Mente and Riverlane. The companies span AI-accelerated drug discovery, infrastructure project forecasting, an AI engine that writes and optimises algorithms, biological foundation models aimed at neurodegenerative disease, and quantum error-correction technology. Nvidia has not disclosed the size of the investments, but it is understood to be taking minority positions.
The five join an existing British portfolio that includes Wayve, Synthesia, Basecamp Research and Ineffable Intelligence. Alongside the startup bets, Nvidia committed $250 million in computing access over five years to UK research on AI agent safety and security. Speaking outside the London event, Huang also argued the West should keep talking to Chinese AI firms, saying he maintains dialogue with researchers in China and advocates that the US and UK do the same.
Four French stakes and a sit-down with Macron
Hours earlier, Nvidia had announced planned minority investments in four French startups: healthtech company Doctolib, AI startup Entalpic, robotics startup Genesis AI and enterprise software firm Pigment. On October 13, Huang attended an AI ecosystem reception in Paris alongside founders, researchers and policymakers, then met Macron at the Élysée Palace to discuss AI infrastructure, investment in French technology companies, open-source development and AI safety.
At the Paris reception, Huang described Europe as "one of the great regions of industrial manufacturing" and said, "This is the beginning of the AI journey for the EU."
A wider strategy — and a sovereignty question
The tour caps a year in which Nvidia has participated in European financing rounds involving Mistral AI, Nscale, Wayve and Ineffable Intelligence. Beyond funding, the company is collaborating with the Norrsken Foundation on a Stockholm AI Lab opening in 2027 and with Sweden AI Factory, while regional cloud providers aim for roughly a gigawatt of AI cloud capacity by the end of 2027. But the expansion also revives Europe's familiar tension: more funding and compute for its startups means deeper dependence on a single American chip supplier — a balance policymakers on the continent are watching closely.
Sources:
EU-Startups: Nvidia is investing heavily into Europe - why now?
Tech.eu: Nvidia bets on five UK startups
Five British bets, from drug discovery to quantum
At a London event on October 14, Huang unveiled planned minority investments in five British startups: Boltz, Foresight, Hiverge, Prima Mente and Riverlane. The companies span AI-accelerated drug discovery, infrastructure project forecasting, an AI engine that writes and optimises algorithms, biological foundation models aimed at neurodegenerative disease, and quantum error-correction technology. Nvidia has not disclosed the size of the investments, but it is understood to be taking minority positions.
The five join an existing British portfolio that includes Wayve, Synthesia, Basecamp Research and Ineffable Intelligence. Alongside the startup bets, Nvidia committed $250 million in computing access over five years to UK research on AI agent safety and security. Speaking outside the London event, Huang also argued the West should keep talking to Chinese AI firms, saying he maintains dialogue with researchers in China and advocates that the US and UK do the same.
Four French stakes and a sit-down with Macron
Hours earlier, Nvidia had announced planned minority investments in four French startups: healthtech company Doctolib, AI startup Entalpic, robotics startup Genesis AI and enterprise software firm Pigment. On October 13, Huang attended an AI ecosystem reception in Paris alongside founders, researchers and policymakers, then met Macron at the Élysée Palace to discuss AI infrastructure, investment in French technology companies, open-source development and AI safety.
At the Paris reception, Huang described Europe as "one of the great regions of industrial manufacturing" and said, "This is the beginning of the AI journey for the EU."
A wider strategy — and a sovereignty question
The tour caps a year in which Nvidia has participated in European financing rounds involving Mistral AI, Nscale, Wayve and Ineffable Intelligence. Beyond funding, the company is collaborating with the Norrsken Foundation on a Stockholm AI Lab opening in 2027 and with Sweden AI Factory, while regional cloud providers aim for roughly a gigawatt of AI cloud capacity by the end of 2027. But the expansion also revives Europe's familiar tension: more funding and compute for its startups means deeper dependence on a single American chip supplier — a balance policymakers on the continent are watching closely.
Sources:
EU-Startups: Nvidia is investing heavily into Europe - why now?
Tech.eu: Nvidia bets on five UK startups
