Peter Thiel's hedge fund, Thiel Macro LLC, liquidated its entire stake in NVIDIA Corp. during the third quarter, marking another retreat from the leading AI chip supplier.
The fund sold all 537,742 shares it held in the world's top AI chipmaker, valued at approximately $100 million based on NVIDIA's closing price on September 30. According to 13F filings (documents required by the U.S. SEC for institutional investors to disclose holdings), Thiel Macro's current primary investments include Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and a reduced position in Tesla Inc.
Thiel's divestment coincides with growing market concerns over an AI investment bubble—the very trend that propelled NVIDIA to become the world's most valuable company. Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, perhaps the most prominent critic of this trend, has disclosed bearish bets against NVIDIA and Palantir Technologies Inc.
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. also announced in October the sale of its NVIDIA holdings for $5.83 billion, primarily to fund other AI investments. While Thiel is less optimistic about AI's prospects than SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, both chose to exit their NVIDIA positions around the time the chipmaker became the first company to surpass a $5 trillion market capitalization.
NVIDIA's stock has risen only about 2% since late September and fell roughly 1% in U.S. premarket trading. An analysis of 13F filings from 909 hedge funds reveals a split in investor sentiment: 161 funds increased their NVIDIA holdings in the three months ending September, while 160 reduced theirs. The market remains divided on the outlook for AI companies—many of which continue to raise and burn cash at high rates but have yet to prove their profitability can justify steep investment costs.
Peter Thiel did not immediately respond to emails or messages requesting comment outside business hours.
Beyond these moves, Thiel has also backed U.S. startup Substrate (which aims to compete in AI semiconductor manufacturing) and several other AI ventures, including Mercor and Cognition AI, through his venture capital investments.
Burry's Scion Asset Management disclosed this month that it purchased put options on NVIDIA and Palantir (positions that profit from stock declines). Burry, who gained fame for shorting the U.S. housing market in 2008, also posted an cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter): "Sometimes, we get to see bubbles in real time."
He later questioned the accounting practices of "hyperscale tech companies" (those purchasing NVIDIA chips), including Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc., noting their extended depreciation timelines in recent years—a move that reduces expenses and inflates profits.
Comments