Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regrets not supporting OpenAI, Anthropic in their early days

Huang described the early-stage opportunity as one that Nvidia simply wasn't ready to seize due to its position at that time.

Nvidia has made its fortune in the AI era with its specialised GPUs and AI-centric chipsets. However, its CEO, Jensen Huang, has openly admitted that he made a significant mistake by not backing OpenAI and Anthropic in their early stages. Huang called the missed opportunity his "miss" and a clear error in judgment.

In a candid conversation on the latest episode of the Dwarkesh Patel podcast, Huang acknowledged that Nvidia was not financially or strategically positioned at the time to commit the massive multi-billion-dollar funding that these AI labs needed during their early stages.

However, with the company now enjoying financial strength driven by the AI boom, it has committed substantial funding to both these AI organisations.

Huang regrets not investing earlier

Speaking on the podcast, Huang said he regretted not investing earlier in the two leading AI labs. He described the early-stage opportunity as one that Nvidia simply wasn't ready to seize due to its position at that time.

"At the time, I didn't deeply internalise how difficult it would be to build a foundation AI lab like OpenAI and Anthropic, and the fact that they needed huge investments from the suppliers themselves. We just weren't in a position to make the multi-billion dollar investment into Anthropic so that they could use our compute," he said in the podcast.

Huang went on to praise rival tech firms like Google and AWS for taking the tough decisions. "They put in huge investments in the beginning so that Anthropic, in return, used their compute. We just weren't in a position to do that at the time," he said.

However, with the financial situation healthier than before, Nvidia is now in a position to invest.

"I'm delighted to invest in OpenAI, and I'm delighted to help them scale, and I believe it's essential to do so. And then, when I was able to, when Anthropic came to us, I'm delighted to be an investor, delighted to help them scale," he said. The chip giant has poured billions into both companies as part of its strategy to support the broader AI ecosystem that heavily relies on its GPUs.

Nvidia now serious about AI investment

Nvidia has made significant late-stage investments in both OpenAI and Anthropic. This includes a roughly $30 billion commitment to OpenAI (down from an initially discussed $100 billion) and a $10 billion investment in Anthropic in late 2025.

Huang emphasised that these investments were made to strengthen the overall AI industry, which in turn drives enormous demand for Nvidia's advanced chips.

The Nvidia CEO's admission comes as both OpenAI and Anthropic are reportedly preparing for potential IPOs later in 2026. Huang had earlier indicated that Nvidia's recent investments in these companies may be its last major direct stakes before they go public.