New York, January 12, 2026, 16:30 EST — Trading after-hours.
- Nvidia and Eli Lilly are set to pour up to $1 billion into an AI-driven drug discovery lab across the next five years.
- NVDA closed the regular session flat and remained steady in after-hours trading.
- Attention shifts to TSMC’s January 15 earnings report, followed by Nvidia’s results on February 25.
Nvidia shares held steady in after-hours trading Monday following the announcement that the chipmaker and Eli Lilly plan to launch a joint AI research lab focused on accelerating drug discovery.
This deal is significant as Nvidia looks to embed its chips and software more firmly into sectors beyond the typical cloud giants. Healthcare stands out as one of the rare fields where fresh AI workloads can emerge without waiting on the next tech spending wave.
Traders, however, are focused mainly on one factor: the strength and consistency of demand for Nvidia’s data-center chips. A new partnership adds another angle, but the key question remains how quickly it will translate into revenue.
Nvidia closed the regular session just a fraction higher, up 0.01% at $184.88, then hovered near $184.94 in after-hours trading.
The two firms plan to invest $1 billion over five years in a joint lab located in the San Francisco Bay area, utilizing Nvidia’s latest Vera Rubin chips—advanced processors designed for training and running AI models. Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s healthcare vice president, said both companies are dedicating “incremental resources” to the project, with the exact lab site set to be revealed in March. Reuters
Nvidia on Monday unveiled an expanded version of BioNeMo, its platform for building biology and drug-discovery models. The company also highlighted a new collaboration with Thermo Fisher aimed at advancing automated laboratories. “We see this as a catalyst” for the next phase in drug discovery, said Lilly executive vice president Diogo Rau. Thermo Fisher’s Gianluca Pettitti added that combining lab automation with AI can help customers “work faster” and boost accuracy. NVIDIA Newsroom
The news broke as the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicked off in San Francisco—a key week when pharma companies and investors swap updates on R&D spending, clinical data, and deals.
Chip investors are eyeing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Nvidia’s main supplier, which will release earnings and 2026 guidance on Thursday. Analysts forecast a sharp rise in TSMC’s fourth-quarter profit, driven by strong demand for AI infrastructure that’s keeping its fabs full.
However, these dollars aren’t tied directly to chip shipments. The companies haven’t detailed how cash and compute resources will move within the partnership. Similar deals in the industry have raised concerns over whether the investments simply circle back into buying more hardware.
Nvidia’s next big date is its quarterly earnings report on Feb. 25. Investors will be watching closely for updates on demand, supply chain issues, and profit margins — plus any hints that emerging sectors like healthcare are starting to make a difference.
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