Nvidia is increasingly seen as extending its influence across the AI ecosystem beyond supplying chips, taking on roles as an investor and a financing conduit. A professor compared its position to a modern gold rush, saying it now both sells picks and owns stakes in mines while lending to prospectors. Nvidia is reported to have invested in major AI firms and is pursuing large-scale infrastructure funding with Wall Street partners, amid warnings of overdependence.

Steve Hanke, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, criticised optimism that AI will spread at near-zero cost and said it cannot replace all human jobs. He said AI requires large amounts of electricity, water and physical capital such as graphics chips. Big tech firms expect about $700 billion in combined capital spending this year for data centres. Hanke said AI’s impact will depend on how much scarce resources cost.