AI capital priorities are defined by large-scale infrastructure projects, national strategies, and coordinated institutional commitments.
Global Capital Priorities – SwissCognitive AI Investment Radar
Leading the headlines, Nvidia made a bold move with a $1 billion investment in Nokia, acquiring a 2.9% stake and signalling a deeper commitment to AI-driven telecom infrastructure. This contributed to Nokia’s highest market valuation in nearly a decade and hints at a tighter integration of AI across the global communications stack.
At a sovereign level, Amazon Web Services pledged $5 billion toward South Korea’s data centre development, aligning with Seoul’s plans to become a regional AI hub. In Europe, Amazon committed another $1.6 billion to expand its Dutch AI and e-commerce operations, while Uzbekistan aims to attract $1 billion over five years into AI infrastructure, launched via a national AI portal initiative. Meanwhile, SoftBank confirmed approval of a final $22.5 billion instalment toward its OpenAI commitment, making the full deal one of the most substantial capital deployments in AI history.
New growth funds also entered the scene. Andreessen Horowitz is targeting $10 billion, including $3 billion specifically for AI ventures and $1 billion for defence tech, suggesting that geopolitical urgency and national resilience are now central themes in venture capital.
Data infrastructure remains a cornerstone. Crusoe Energy is raising $1.38 billion in its latest round to scale AI-native data centres, while NiSource, a U.S. utility, outlined multibillion-dollar infrastructure upgrades to support data centre energy demand—a reminder that AI growth is deeply tied to energy and logistics. In parallel, Amazon’s Rainier compute cluster was launched to support Anthropic’s Claude model, using over one million chips by year-end, underscoring the scale of compute specialisation now underway.
In Europe, Oracle founder Larry Ellison committed $15 billion over ten years to Oxford through the Ellison Institute for AI and science programs, aiming to position the city as a global innovation centre. On the U.S. asset management side, Vanguard publicly highlighted operational and investment-level use cases of AI, showcasing a shift from experimentation to implementation.
Other significant startup funding rounds include: MetaTech securing $25M+ seed funding to build an AI and blockchain investment ecosystem; CoreStory raising $32 million to modernise legacy software with AI; and Mem0 closing a $24 million Series A to provide memory infrastructure for AI agents. In parallel, SuperX AI Technology raised $39.9 million via private placement, while Ed Craven invested $30 million into an AI chip factory alternative to Nvidia’s dominance. Smaller regional plays also gained traction, such as Saturn’s €12.9 million round for AI in financial advisory, Velents’ $1.5 million to develop an Arabic-speaking AI agent, and a $500k pre-seed from the University of Melbourne for an AI tool to dose chemotherapy more precisely.
Investor behaviour continues to align with these shifts. Goldman Sachs reported that hedge fund exposure to AI hardware reached its highest levels since 2016, while a Reuters piece noted that US companies are increasingly prioritising AI capex over buybacks, reflecting capital realignment toward long-term AI bets.
In parallel, the strategic realignment between Microsoft and OpenAI, removing previous fundraising restrictions, will likely enable the ChatGPT maker to pursue an IPO and build out further infrastructure independently of its original nonprofit structure.
The week’s developments show a clear capital trajectory: global infrastructure, sector specialisation, and investor recalibration are becoming core to how AI is financed and scaled.
Previous SwissCognitive AI Radar: AI’s Expanding Investment Map.
Our article does not offer financial advice and should not be considered a recommendation to engage in any securities or products. Investments carry the risk of a decrease in value, and investors may potentially lose a portion or all of their investment. Past performance should not be relied upon as an indicator of future results.
AI capital priorities are defined by large-scale infrastructure projects, national strategies, and coordinated institutional commitments.
Global Capital Priorities – SwissCognitive AI Investment Radar
At a sovereign level, Amazon Web Services pledged $5 billion toward South Korea’s data centre development, aligning with Seoul’s plans to become a regional AI hub. In Europe, Amazon committed another $1.6 billion to expand its Dutch AI and e-commerce operations, while Uzbekistan aims to attract $1 billion over five years into AI infrastructure, launched via a national AI portal initiative. Meanwhile, SoftBank confirmed approval of a final $22.5 billion instalment toward its OpenAI commitment, making the full deal one of the most substantial capital deployments in AI history.
New growth funds also entered the scene. Andreessen Horowitz is targeting $10 billion, including $3 billion specifically for AI ventures and $1 billion for defence tech, suggesting that geopolitical urgency and national resilience are now central themes in venture capital.
Data infrastructure remains a cornerstone. Crusoe Energy is raising $1.38 billion in its latest round to scale AI-native data centres, while NiSource, a U.S. utility, outlined multibillion-dollar infrastructure upgrades to support data centre energy demand—a reminder that AI growth is deeply tied to energy and logistics. In parallel, Amazon’s Rainier compute cluster was launched to support Anthropic’s Claude model, using over one million chips by year-end, underscoring the scale of compute specialisation now underway.
In Europe, Oracle founder Larry Ellison committed $15 billion over ten years to Oxford through the Ellison Institute for AI and science programs, aiming to position the city as a global innovation centre. On the U.S. asset management side, Vanguard publicly highlighted operational and investment-level use cases of AI, showcasing a shift from experimentation to implementation.
Other significant startup funding rounds include: MetaTech securing $25M+ seed funding to build an AI and blockchain investment ecosystem; CoreStory raising $32 million to modernise legacy software with AI; and Mem0 closing a $24 million Series A to provide memory infrastructure for AI agents. In parallel, SuperX AI Technology raised $39.9 million via private placement, while Ed Craven invested $30 million into an AI chip factory alternative to Nvidia’s dominance. Smaller regional plays also gained traction, such as Saturn’s €12.9 million round for AI in financial advisory, Velents’ $1.5 million to develop an Arabic-speaking AI agent, and a $500k pre-seed from the University of Melbourne for an AI tool to dose chemotherapy more precisely.
Investor behaviour continues to align with these shifts. Goldman Sachs reported that hedge fund exposure to AI hardware reached its highest levels since 2016, while a Reuters piece noted that US companies are increasingly prioritising AI capex over buybacks, reflecting capital realignment toward long-term AI bets.
In parallel, the strategic realignment between Microsoft and OpenAI, removing previous fundraising restrictions, will likely enable the ChatGPT maker to pursue an IPO and build out further infrastructure independently of its original nonprofit structure.
The week’s developments show a clear capital trajectory: global infrastructure, sector specialisation, and investor recalibration are becoming core to how AI is financed and scaled.
Previous SwissCognitive AI Radar: AI’s Expanding Investment Map.
Our article does not offer financial advice and should not be considered a recommendation to engage in any securities or products. Investments carry the risk of a decrease in value, and investors may potentially lose a portion or all of their investment. Past performance should not be relied upon as an indicator of future results.
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