How Nvidia ‘played a central role’ in the $306 billion AI startup boom

Nvidia’s (NVDA) AI chips laid the groundwork for a massive wave of venture capital investments in AI startups.

From the first quarter of 2023 — following the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 — through the first quarter of this year, venture capitalists have invested $306.5 billion in global AI and machine learning startups and private companies, with $230 billion of that value going to US firms, according to PitchBook data.

And over that time frame, AI and machine learning…