Nvidia expands AI investment portfolio to $18.4 billion with CoreWeave and Coherent stakes
The Motley Fool reports Nvidia’s investment portfolio reached nearly $18.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026, driven by a significant boost in its data centre provider position and a new photonics partnership.
Nvidia has increased its investment portfolio by $3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, targeting two artificial intelligence companies. The chipmaker boosted its stake in data centre provider CoreWeave by 95 per cent, adding over $1.9 billion to hold a nearly 9 per cent share. Nvidia also announced a new partnership with photonics leader Coherent, committing $2 billion to support research and development and securing multibillion-dollar purchase rights for optical networking products.
The total investment portfolio swelled to close to $18.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Nvidia increased its position in CoreWeave by more than $1.9 billion, bringing the total position to over $3.65 billion. Nvidia now owns more than 47 million shares of CoreWeave, representing a stake of close to 9 per cent.
In January, Nvidia invested $2 billion into Class A shares of CoreWeave at an average cost of $87.20 per share. Nvidia and CoreWeave expanded their relationship to accelerate the construction of more than 5 gigawatts of AI data centres by 2030. Data center build-out is key to the AI revolution, so it is in Nvidia's interest to see CoreWeave grow.
However, the company's balance sheet presents risks. At the end of the first quarter, CoreWeave's total debt-to-equity ratio was high at 5.2. The company's total liabilities-to-equity ratio was also very high at 10.6. The outstanding share count has more than doubled over the past year, driven by multiple private offerings.
Nvidia announced a non-exclusive agreement with Coherent involving a multibillion-dollar purchase commitment and future access to advanced laser and optical networking products. Nvidia uses Coherent's silicon photonics to build Spectrum-X switches, which are key for building multi-tenant, hyperscale AI clouds.
Coherent's stock has risen nearly 370 per cent over the past year and trades at close to 70 times forward earnings. The Motley Fool analyst team identified 10 best stocks for investors to buy, excluding Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Coherent, Micron Technology, and Nvidia.
