Nvidia's inference startup buying spree (2024-2025)
Nvidia acquired a run of optimization startups, including Lepton AI, OctoAI, Deci and CentML. The CentML deal was reported at up to $400 million. Each team specialized in making AI models run faster and cheaper on Nvidia chips.
Nvidia pulled scarce optimization talent in-house and tied it to its hardware.
The deals helped establish inference software as a distinct, acquirable layer of the AI stack.
Nebius's Eigen AI purchase follows the same logic: buy the small team that controls chip efficiency rather than build it slowly.
