Nvidia’s $125 billion AI Deals Spark Vendor Financing Concerns

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Nvidia has committed over $125 billion in AI partnerships this year, including annual $10 billion investments into OpenAI and a $5 billion venture with Intel to facilitate PC market access. Critics warn these circular vendor-financing structures could expose Nvidia to write-downs on equity stakes and unpaid receivables if AI demand falters.

1. Institutional Investors Boost Stakes Significantly

During the third quarter, Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its NVIDIA holdings by 19.6%, adding 3,835 shares to reach 23,385 shares, making NVDA its 12th largest position. TTP Investments Inc. also added 5,247 shares in the same period, lifting its total to 101,504 shares and positioning NVDA as its sixth largest holding. Together, these moves underscore growing confidence among mid-sized asset managers, with combined purchases valued at over $22 million.

2. Select Funds Reduce Exposure to NVDA

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC trimmed its NVIDIA stake by 18.3% in the third quarter, selling 6,392 shares to end with 28,490 shares on its books, a position worth roughly $5.3 million. Meanwhile, Generali Investments CEE investiční spolecnost a.s. reduced its stake by 10%, divesting 15,489 shares and retaining 139,407 shares. These reductions reflect profit-taking among certain institutional portfolios after NVDA’s blockbuster run in 2025.

3. Complex Financing and Government Partnerships Under Scrutiny

NVIDIA has committed to at least $125 billion in deals this year, including structured investments in AI developers such as OpenAI ($10 billion annually over ten years) and xAI ($2 billion via an SPV), alongside multibillion-dollar chip supply agreements with South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The use of vendor-style financing and special-purpose vehicles has drawn comparisons to early-2000s telecom and energy financings, prompting company memos stressing that all debts are fully disclosed and collateralized by chip orders rather than off-balance-sheet obfuscation.

4. Bear Case Fades as Groq Partnership Validates Strategy

Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon highlighted NVIDIA’s new deal to supply AI accelerator startup Groq as a pivotal development that eliminates the last remaining skeptical thesis on the stock. Groq’s founder, an architect of Google’s first TPU, will integrate NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture into its high-bandwidth, low-latency systems. The partnership both cements NVIDIA’s ecosystem dominance and undercuts arguments that niche AI chip rivals can meaningfully erode its market share.

Sources

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