According to Business Insider’s June 21 report, EverGreen was officially founded in March. It is a community made up of former NVIDIA employees that provides consulting and investment services to AI startups. All four founding partners come from NVIDIA’s executive leadership. It has now grown to about 30,000 members, and its invested projects include Protopia AI and Sophia Space.
EverGreen’s Four Founding Partners and Their Respective NVIDIA Backgrounds
Greg Estes: After nearly 16 years at NVIDIA, he previously served as vice president of Marketing and Developer Programs, working closely with Jensen Huang. He also led NVIDIA Inception, a startup incubator program that serves more than 40,000 companies (providing cloud service credits and technical resources). He said EverGreen allows him to stay connected to the startup ecosystem he helped cultivate over many years. He also rebutted claims that NVIDIA employees get rich and retire early, pointing out that many people—including billionaires in the senior management team—still remain, “because they love this job.”
Jeff Brown: Former NVIDIA general manager. He left the company years before the AI boom, and since then has focused on consulting for startups and venture capital investing.
Devang Sachdev and Vishal Lulla: Former product leaders.
EverGreen’s Investment Model: Case-by-Case Evaluation, With Investments in Protopia AI and Sophia Space
EverGreen is not a traditional VC fund and does not manage a single pool of capital. Instead, it evaluates startups one by one and then invites members to invest. Its focus is on companies that work with NVIDIA but do not directly compete, covering areas such as infrastructure, developer tools, and robotics.
Invested projects: Protopia AI (a security startup co-founded by former NVIDIA research fellow Eiman Ebrahimi); Sophia Space (an orbital computing company mentioned during Jensen Huang’s March 2026 GTC keynote address). Activities include startup showcases and one-on-one mentorship.
Estes said, “The value of EverGreen lies in its network, not in our money.”
EverGreen’s Relationship with NVIDIA: No Formal Ties, Yet Approved, With Deals Flowing to NVentures
EverGreen has no formal affiliation with NVIDIA. Estes said that before joining EverGreen, he had met with NVIDIA executives and received approval. EverGreen also connects startups with NVIDIA’s NVentures investment division: “If you work in NVIDIA’s venture capital division, we will provide you with deal opportunities.” Estes added, “If NVIDIA doesn’t like our existence, then there’s no chance of success.”
Brown explained that EverGreen’s name comes from the fact that many former employees remain “passionate about green (NVIDIA’s brand color)” even long after leaving. He also mentioned Google’s Xoogler community and Microsoft alumni networks as similar models.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does EverGreen only accept founders who are former NVIDIA employees?
According to Estes, founders don’t have to be NVIDIA alumni to join. While the early goal was indeed to serve NVIDIA alumni, it has now opened to a broader range of AI entrepreneurs. Estes also noted that NVIDIA employees typically don’t quit, so there simply aren’t many founders from among former employees.
How does EverGreen collaborate with NVIDIA’s NVentures investment division?
According to Estes, EverGreen links startups with NVIDIA’s NVentures investment division, creating a complementary relationship for “providing deal opportunities.” EverGreen has no formal financial relationship with NVIDIA, but Estes said he had already received approval from NVIDIA leadership before founding EverGreen. The relationship is positioned as complementary rather than competitive.
How is EverGreen’s investment structure different from traditional VC?
According to the report, EverGreen does not manage a single capital pool. Instead, after evaluating startups case by case, it invites members to decide individually whether to invest. This model allows members to participate in investing while also developing other businesses, and it makes EverGreen’s core value rely more on its NVIDIA alumni network of 30,000 people than on the size of its capital.
