Open‑Source AI Lab Nous Research Raises $90M from Nvidia and Microsoft’s VC Arm

According to a startup funding database, US‑based Nous Research has raised a $90 million Series A round to accelerate its open‑source large language models for business use. The round is led by GPU giant Nvidia and M12, Microsoft’s venture capital arm, signaling growing big‑tech interest in open‑weight alternatives to proprietary AI systems.

Nous Research focuses on models whose weights are publicly released, allowing outside developers to inspect, fine‑tune and self‑host them instead of relying solely on a vendor’s cloud API. That approach appeals to companies that want tighter control over cost, latency and data governance—especially in regulated industries where keeping sensitive information on‑premises is a priority.

The new capital will fund larger training clusters, new enterprise tooling and international expansion. It also underlines a broader shift: while closed, frontier‑scale models still dominate headlines, investors are beginning to bet that a vibrant open‑source ecosystem will coexist alongside them. That raises fresh questions around security, copyright exposure and responsibility for downstream misuse, but with multiple tech giants now backing open‑weight labs, competitive pressure on proprietary providers is set to increase.