NEW YORK, Jan 22, 2026, 09:32 EST — Regular session
- Nvidia shares climbed roughly 3% in early trading, riding a wider tech sector rally.
- A report revealed that Nvidia poured $150 million into AI inference startup Baseten.
- Traders eye uncertainty around China-related chips as Nvidia’s results due late February approach.
Nvidia (NVDA.O) shares climbed roughly 3% to $183.32 in early Thursday trading, bouncing back after a rough start to the week. The S&P 500 added around 1.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 gained about 1.3%.
Nvidia has turned into a barometer for big-tech spending and the AI sector. When its shares shift, index funds and quick traders usually jump in behind.
The stock’s recent jump reflects investors weighing if demand is moving from training massive AI models to scaling their operation—and what that shift could mean for Nvidia’s pricing power amid growing competition.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia poured $150 million into Baseten, part of a $300 million funding round that pegged the AI startup’s valuation at $5 billion. Baseten specializes in “inference”—the process of running AI models after training—a segment that’s attracting renewed investment across the industry. (The Wall Street Journal)
Mizuho analysts told Barron’s that inference might make up 60% to 80% of AI workloads, up sharply from today’s 20% to 40%. This change could expand demand well beyond just the biggest model builders.
The move follows a sharp rebound on Wall Street Wednesday, with stocks rallying after President Donald Trump announced a framework agreement on Greenland and backed off new tariff threats. (Reuters)
That said, Nvidia’s ties to China continue to cast a shadow. Taiwan-based server manufacturer Inventec reported this week that China’s approval for Nvidia’s H200 chip “appears to be stuck,” signaling ongoing doubts over shipments. (Reuters)
At Davos, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a stark warning about selling advanced Nvidia chips to China, describing it as “a bit like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.” (Bloomberg)
Chip stocks mostly jumped back. Advanced Micro Devices climbed roughly 7.6%, Intel surged around 11.7% early on, but Broadcom dropped close to 1.1%.
The downside is clear: fresh tensions with China could disrupt deliveries, while ramping up inference capacity might intensify competition from rivals and custom chips in major cloud companies. A dip in risk appetite would probably hit Nvidia quickly, considering how crowded this trade has become.
Investors are now turning their attention to Nvidia’s fourth-quarter report on Feb. 25, eager for updates on China-related demand and supply dynamics. They’ll also be watching for any hints about product ramp-ups. (Nvidia)
