Nvidia, Cryptocurrency startup inception program exclusion... AI-centered strategy becomes clear

Nvidia Inception Membership Criteria (Source: Nvidia)

Nvidia has been shown to exclude cryptocurrency-related companies from its startup nurturing program, ‘Inception’. This is a markedly different move from its past position of investing in cryptocurrency sector startups.

According to Cointelegraph reports on the 24th (local time), the Inception official website specifies that companies with cryptocurrency as their core business are not eligible to participate in the program. Additionally, consulting and outsourcing development firms, cloud service providers, resellers and distributors, and already listed companies are also excluded from participation.

The Inception program is operated globally targeting startups under 10 years old and is a representative startup support platform of Nvidia providing benefits such as technical support, joint marketing, and networking.

This move is interpreted as a signal that Nvidia is shifting the direction of its startup nurturing strategy from cryptocurrency to focusing on artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. In fact, Nvidia included the advertising technology startup ‘Ubex’, which combined Blockchain and AI, in Inception in 2018.

However, recently, it has been gradually severing ties with the cryptocurrency industry. Nvidia, which once benefited from the surging sales of graphics processing units (GPUs) due to cryptocurrency mining demand, is now focusing on the demand for AI computing-centric semiconductors such as microchips for data centers.

Although Nvidia has not publicly stated its stance on the change in qualification criteria this time, it is becoming clear that cryptocurrency startups are being evaluated under different standards than rapidly growing AI startups. Nvidia's decision to distance itself from cryptocurrency is attracting more attention, coinciding with market changes where tech companies are being reorganized around AI.