Last fiscal year, NVIDIA significantly boosted its equity investments in partners and customers, deploying more than $70 billion in cash to acquire both tradable and non-tradable (private) securities. This marked a substantial surge from the previous fiscal year and fueled market speculation about potential circular transactions. The company's Chief Financial Officer emphasized that ongoing investments in the 'extreme ecosystem' are a vital strategy and will remain a cornerstone of NVIDIA's approach. Additionally, NVIDIA shed light on some specifics of its dealings with AI startup Groq Inc., revealing that it has already disbursed $13 billion and is set to pay an extra $4 billion. These transactions have escalated capital expenditures, leading to a pronounced rise in cash outflows from investment activities. Nevertheless, NVIDIA's core business continues to be exceptionally profitable. Amidst the combined effects of aggressive investments and stock buybacks, the company's cash and equivalents at the end of the period saw only a modest increase of approximately $2 billion. Investors have taken note of the significant uptick in NVIDIA's procurement commitments, recognizing that while long-term commitments come with inherent risks, they also serve to mitigate supply chain concerns. NVIDIA has stated that it is proactively gearing up to fulfill customer demand.