NVIDIA’s 5-Layer AI Domination Stack

NVIDIA has evolved from a GPU manufacturer into the most strategically positioned company in the AI revolution. With $38B+ invested across 38+ companies, Jensen Huang has systematically deployed capital across every layer of the AI stack.

The 5 Layers

Layer 1: Silicon, Data & Energy

Pattern: Vertical Integration

Targets physical constraints software cannot fix: interconnect bandwidth, data pipelines, power. Investments: Ayar Labs (optical interconnects), Commonwealth Fusion (energy), Weka (data).

Layer 2: AI Infrastructure & Cloud

Pattern: Stargate Lock-In

Invests in data center builders designated for Project Stargate. Capital invested returns as GPU purchase orders. Investments: Crusoe, Nscale, CoreWeave, Lambda.

Layer 3: Foundation Models

Pattern: Circular Economics

Investment contracts ARE purchase agreements. Investments: Anthropic, xAI, Mistral, Thinking Machines.

Layer 4: AI Applications

Pattern: Demand Generation

Applications drive the inference economy. Subscriptions mean recurring GPU demand. Investments: Cursor, Perplexity, Runway, Uniphore.

Layer 5: Physical AI & Endpoints

Pattern: Edge Compute Lock-In

Where AI meets atoms. Every humanoid robot runs NVIDIA edge silicon. Investments: Figure AI, Wayve, Nuro, Bright Machines.

Read the full analysis on The Business Engineer.