Nvidia Invests $3.5B into MediaTek, Wafer Raises $40M Series A, VC Argues for Raising Less for AI

AI inference optimization and the shifting landscape of semiconductor infrastructure define the current tech investment climate. Wafer’s recent $40 million funding highlights a move toward software-driven efficiency, where AI agents automate GPU kernel optimization to enable high performance on non-NVIDIA hardware like AMD chips. Simultaneously, Nvidia’s $3.5 billion investment in MediaTek signals a strategic push to dominate rack-level interconnects and ARM-based CPUs, effectively positioning itself to profit from competitors' inference products. Amidst these capital-intensive hardware trends, venture capital focus is pivoting back toward the application layer. Building efficient software that leverages existing intelligence models offers a more predictable business model than the volatile "NeoCloud" sector, as founders increasingly prioritize commercial market success over the extreme dilution associated with deep tech infrastructure.