Nvidia intends to invest in d-Matrix, a startup that builds chips competing with Nvidia's own AI accelerators, The Information reports.

The move would put the dominant supplier of AI training and inference hardware in the unusual position of funding a direct rival. D-Matrix designs chips focused on inference — running trained AI models — rather than on training them, a segment where Nvidia's GPUs currently hold the largest market share.

What does the investment signal?

If completed, the deal would follow a pattern Nvidia has used before: taking stakes in companies across the AI compute stack while they remain customers for Nvidia hardware or partners in emerging system architectures. Nvidia has previously invested in AI infrastructure firms even where their product roadmaps partially overlap with its own.

For d-Matrix, an Nvidia investment would bring capital plus credibility with enterprise buyers evaluating alternative inference silicon. For Nvidia, it would offer a foothold in a startup attacking the inference market from a different architectural direction.

The report did not specify:

• the size of the planned investment
• the valuation at which d-Matrix would raise the funds
• a timeline for closing the deal

Neither Nvidia nor d-Matrix has publicly confirmed the plans, and the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the report.

Why does the inference market matter?

Inference is becoming the larger share of AI compute spending as companies move models from development into production. That shift has opened space for specialized challengers — d-Matrix among them — that argue inference workloads need different silicon than the GPUs designed originally for training and graphics.

Nvidia's willingness to back a competitor in this segment suggests the company sees value in hedging its position as the inference landscape diversifies. Investors and supply-chain partners will watch whether the deal closes, and on what terms, as a signal of how Nvidia intends to manage rivalries in its core market.

The Information's report describes the investment as planned; terms remain undisclosed.