除了股權投資外，輝達還透過信用擔保和租賃承諾等方式擴大對客戶的支持。該公司已為部分客戶提供總計35億美元的貸款擔保，並可能為OpenAI提供高達2500億美元的信用支持。執行長黃仁勳更進一步承諾在德州租賃價值500億美元的資料中心，該中心將搭載輝達自家晶片，並保留轉租服務的選項，這實質上是另一種形式的擔保。
供應商融資對輝達而言比對汽車製造商或百貨公司更具意義，因為AI產業發展迅速，企業難以從市場籌集足夠資金來建設所需的算力規模。若AI產業整體發展順利，輝達可從晶片銷售和股權投資中獲得雙重收益。然而，信用擔保也放大了風險：一旦客戶出現問題，估值損失可能演變為償付能力危機。儘管輝達目前擁有800億美元流動資產和每年約2000億美元的營運現金流，但隨著涉及金額不斷攀升，這家過去對債務持保守態度的公司風險特徵正在發生改變。
Nvidia has dramatically expanded its vendor financing activities, with unlisted equity investments surging to $42 billion by the end of April 2025 from just $3 billion a year earlier. Rather than making traditional loans, the chipmaker has invested directly in customers such as OpenAI ($30 billion) and Anthropic ($10 billion), enabling them to purchase more of its AI chips than they could otherwise afford. These transactions are characterized as back-to-back rather than truly circular, as equity investments are not necessarily funnelled directly back into chip purchases, and Nvidia retains both revenue and ownership stakes.
Beyond equity investments, Nvidia is extending its customer support through credit guarantees and lease commitments. The company already backstops $3.5 billion in customer loans and may soon offer OpenAI credit support of up to $250 billion. CEO Jensen Huang has also committed to $50 billion in data centre leases in Texas that will host Nvidia's own chips, with the option to sublet services — effectively functioning as yet another form of guarantee. If structured as credit derivatives, these guarantees may have limited impact on the company's balance sheet.
Vendor financing carries both significant upside and considerable risk for Nvidia. If AI bets pay off, the company stands to profit from both chip sales and appreciating equity stakes. However, credit guarantees amplify the downside: a misjudged equity investment merely wastes capital, but assuming a customer's debts can transform a valuation problem into a solvency crisis. While Nvidia currently holds $80 billion in liquid assets and generates roughly $200 billion in annual operating cash flow, the escalating scale of its financial commitments is fundamentally altering the risk profile of this formerly debt-averse company. (Key numbers: 800, 2000)