Nvidia has agreed to buy $2.0 billion of CoreWeave equity at $87.20 per share, a transaction that raises Nvidia's stake in CoreWeave to approximately 9.0% and reinforces the two companies' expanding strategic relationship. Stifel, which provided the details of the investment, kept its rating on CoreWeave shares at Hold even as other analysts reacted positively to the deal.
CoreWeave shares were trading at $98.31 at the time the data was reported, slightly above InvestingPro's Fair Value assessment. The company has posted very strong top-line momentum, with revenue increasing 235.4% over the prior twelve months, but InvestingPro data also highlights liquidity pressure: CoreWeave's current ratio stood at 0.49, signaling that short-term obligations exceed available liquid assets.
Stifel's analysis frames the investment as effectively turning CoreWeave into an "off-balance-sheet extension" of Nvidia's data center strategy. In practical terms, Stifel expects the $2.0 billion equity infusion to support an acceleration of up to 200MW of additional capacity by 2030 within the company's broader 5GW "AI Factory" roadmap. The firm also anticipates that the capital will yield a meaningful reduction in CoreWeave's weighted average cost of capital.
Beyond raw capacity, Stifel emphasized the strategic validation the deal provides for CoreWeave's proprietary software stack, listed as CKS and SUNK in the firm's notes. According to Stifel, CoreWeave's software positions the company to be the exemplar cloud for Nvidia's most advanced architectures, specifically Blackwell and Rubin. That software-focused capability is expected to open higher-margin international and sovereign AI opportunities over the next decade, enabling CoreWeave to operate data centers independently for global customers with data residency requirements.
The arrangement also includes Nvidia purchasing 22.9 million Class A shares, a transaction that results in roughly 9% ownership of CoreWeave. The purchase, and the broader expanded collaboration, is intended to accelerate development of over 5 gigawatts of AI computing infrastructure by 2030. Nvidia's support is expected to reduce CoreWeave's execution risk through assistance with land and powered-shell procurement.
Analyst responses to the Nvidia investment were largely favorable. Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and set a $120.00 price target. Freedom Capital Markets maintained a Buy rating with a $100.00 target. DA Davidson upgraded CoreWeave from Neutral to Buy and raised its price target to $110.00, citing strengthening compute demand and meaningful upside potential. Needham analysts expressed optimism about the partnership, noting the potential to combine CoreWeave's software capabilities with Nvidia's AI infrastructure.
Despite the string of positive analyst moves, Stifel's Hold rating reflects a more cautious view, likely influenced by CoreWeave's liquidity profile and the risk of rapid cash consumption. The company’s near-term balance-sheet metrics, as reported, indicate aggressive growth that is not yet matched by durable liquidity measures.
For market participants, the transaction underscores two concurrent themes: the strategic importance of software and systems integration for advanced AI architectures, and the role of large OEMs in underwriting capacity growth through equity investments. The deal provides capital that is expected to accelerate buildout under CoreWeave's AI Factory plan and reduce execution risk via Nvidia's support in site and powered-shell procurement, while also serving as a validation of CoreWeave's software-led approach.
Investors and industry observers will likely monitor several variables going forward, including the pace at which the company converts capital into operating capacity, the extent to which the weighted average cost of capital declines as a result of the infusion, and whether revenue growth can continue to expand while liquidity metrics improve. At present, the combination of rapid revenue expansion and a low current ratio highlights both the opportunity and the financial strain inherent in CoreWeave's growth trajectory.
Sector impacts
- Cloud infrastructure and data center markets - direct impact from accelerated capacity build and validation of a software stack tailored for advanced AI architectures.
- Semiconductor and AI hardware - Nvidia's role as both technology supplier and strategic investor reaffirms its influence across AI compute ecosystems.
- Capital markets and project finance - sizeable equity infusion alters CoreWeave's funding mix and implied cost of capital.
Bottom line
The $2.0 billion equity investment from Nvidia materially deepens the companies' strategic alignment, provides capital intended to accelerate up to 200MW of the planned 5GW AI Factory capacity by 2030, and validates CoreWeave's software-first positioning for Nvidia's leading architectures. At the same time, CoreWeave's low current ratio points to near-term liquidity challenges, a factor reflected in Stifel's Hold rating even as several other analysts moved to Buy.