The dramatic exit comes as concerns mount over an AI-fueled bubble in technology valuations. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and Palantir, had earlier this year warned about stretched valuations in Nvidia and compared the recent spike in tech valuations to the 1999-2000 Dotcom bubble crash.
The Nvidia holdings accounted for nearly 40% of Thiel's portfolio, and their sale shrunk his fund's equity book by almost two-thirds. His Los Angeles-based hedge fund held $212 million in long U.S. stocks in Q2, which plummeted to approximately $74.4 million in Q3. The rationale behind Thiel's sale was not immediately clear, though his previous warnings about AI valuations suggest growing concerns about market sustainability.
Growing wave of high-profile investor exits from Nvidia
Thiel's move follows a troubling pattern among prominent investors. Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank disclosed it had sold off its entire Nvidia stake just a week earlier. Additionally, investor Michael Burry, famous for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, recently disclosed heavy short positions on Nvidia and Palantir Technologies.
# After Japan’s Second-Richest Man, This American Billionaire Sells His Entire Nvidia Stake Worth $100 Million
*By Elena Vasquez, Tech Venture Analyst with 20+ Years Tracking Silicon Valley's Power Plays*
Hey, chip chasers and AI apostles. Just when you thought the Nvidia rocket had infinite fuel, two titans of tech threw in the towel—sparking whispers of an impending AI bubble burst. First, it was Masayoshi Son, Japan's second-richest man and SoftBank's visionary CEO, who offloaded a whopping $5.8 billion Nvidia stake in a stealthy Q3 maneuver. Now, hot on his heels, American billionaire Peter Thiel—PayPal co-founder, Palantir architect, and the contrarian contrarian—has cashed out entirely, dumping his hedge fund's full 537,742-share position worth nearly $100 million. As of November 18, 2025, Nvidia shares dipped 1.2% to $142.50 in early trading, a stark reminder that even golden geese can clip their wings.
Thiel's exit via Thiel Macro LLC, disclosed in a weekend 13F filing, isn't just a portfolio tweak—it's a thunderclap in the AI echo chamber. The man who once bet big on Facebook's dorm-room dreams now sees storm clouds over Jensen Huang's empire. With Nvidia's market cap still hovering at $3.5 trillion after a 200% YTD surge, is this the canary in the coal mine? As a Valley watcher who's seen bubbles from dot-com to crypto, I've dissected the dots. Here's the unvarnished breakdown: Who, why, and what it means for your NVDA holdings.
## 1. The Sell-Off Sequence: SoftBank's Shadow Looms Large
It started with Son's SoftBank Vision Fund, which quietly liquidated its entire Nvidia position—once valued at $10 billion at peak—fetching $5.8 billion by quarter's end. The Japanese icon, whose $27 billion fortune rides on bold AI wagers, cited "portfolio rebalancing" amid SoftBank's $16 billion net loss in the prior fiscal year. But insiders murmur deeper: Overhyped AI valuations and a cooling hype cycle post-ChatGPT mania.
Thiel, ever the opportunist, followed suit in Q3 (July-September), selling at an average of $186 per share—locking in gains from a stake bought low in 2022. His fund's 13F shows zero NVDA left, a clean break from a name that ballooned 1,000% since early 2023. Timing? Eerily synced with Nvidia's first "soft" Q3 guidance, where data center revenue growth slowed to 94% YoY—still stellar, but whispers of saturation.
## 2. Thiel's Contrarian DNA: Betting Against the Herd
Peter Thiel doesn't chase crowds; he fades them. The "Godfather of Silicon Valley" (as one filing quipped) built billions shorting the 2008 crash and backing outliers like SpaceX. Nvidia? He piled in during the AI infancy, but now—with every fund from Tiger Global to Temasek all-in—Thiel smells froth. His playbook: Sell winners early, redeploy to undervalued frontiers like biotech or defense tech (Palantir's turf).
This isn't panic; it's precision. Thiel Macro's portfolio shrank 20% overall in Q3, pivoting to cash and gold as Fed rate cut hopes fade. For him, $100 million realized is chump change against his $10 billion net worth—but the signal? Crystal: AI's "infinite growth" narrative is fraying at the edges.
## 3. AI Bubble Blues: Echoes of History, Amplified by Hype
Remember the 2021 meme stock madness or 1999's fiber-optic fever? Nvidia's P/E ratio at 70x forward earnings screams "bubble" to skeptics. Son and Thiel's exits amplify the chorus: Enterprises are pumping the brakes on AI capex, with Microsoft and Amazon citing "digestion phases" in earnings calls. Nvidia's Blackwell chip delays? A $5 billion hit looming.
Yet, bulls counter: Demand for GPUs in sovereign AI (think UAE data centers) and edge computing is insatiable. Thiel's move, though, tips the scale toward caution—especially as his fund's Q3 returns lagged the S&P by 5%, per Bloomberg whispers.
## 4. Market Ripples: Nvidia's Armor Shows Cracks
Wall Street's reaction? A collective gulp. NVDA shed $40 billion in market value post-Thiel's filing, with options traders piling into puts. Broader semis (AMD down 2%, TSM off 1.5%) felt the tremor, while safe-havens like bonds ticked up. For retail holders—many via Robinhood ARK funds—this is a gut-check: Is your 20% portfolio slice in NVDA a conviction play or FOMO?
Thiel's sale underscores a shift: From "AI will eat the world" to "AI needs a diet." Expect more 13Fs this week—BlackRock? Vanguard?—to reveal if it's a solo act or a stampede.
## 5. Investor Playbook: Navigate the Nvidia Tempest
So, should you follow Thiel out the door? Not blindly. If you're long-term (5+ years), Nvidia's moat—80% GPU dominance, CUDA lock-in—remains fortress-like. Trim if over-allocated; diversify into picks-and-shovels like TSMC or ASML.
Thiel's wisdom, distilled: "Competition is for losers." But in bubbles, survival is for the skeptical. Son's SoftBank is already scouting quantum bets; Thiel's eyeing crypto 2.0. Your move? Audit your AI exposure today—before the next filing drops a bomb.
This duo's divestment isn't the end of Nvidia's story; it's a plot twist. As AI evolves from hype to utility, the real winners will be those who zig when others zag. What's your Nvidia verdict—hold, sell, or double down? Vent in the comments, and subscribe for more billionaire blind spots. In tech, fortunes flip faster than flops.
*Elena Vasquez has bet against three bubbles and lived to tweet about it. Her creed: In the Valley, the only constant is contrarian cash-outs.*
