Skip the noise. Get the download . This report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. Nvidia has cemented itself at the heart of the AI boom with a monopoly on the most powerful chips to train and run models, but a growing crop of startups are set on challenging the company's supremacy. And increasingly, investors are throwing huge sums behind them. In 2026, AI chip startups raised $8.3 billion in funding, globally, according to Dealroom.