Mark Stevens, an early Nvidia investor who has reaped billions from the chipmaker’s rise, is now directing his philanthropy closer to home. He and his wife, Mary, are donating $175 million to fund the first new medical school in the region in more than a century, which will be operated as a partnership between Santa Clara University and Sutter Health.
“The unique partnership of California’s oldest university, a large and well-respected Northern California integrated healthcare delivery network, and our investment will deliver the next generation of physicians and clinicians,” Stevens said in a statement. The newly-launched school will also “be at the forefront of the intergration of artificial intelligence technology with healthcare delivery.”
The donation is the largest ever made to either Santa Clara, a 175-year-old Silicon Valley university, or Sutter Health, a nonprofit healthcare system serving California. In recognition of the gift, the institution will be named the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine. The school will be housed in an 82,000-square-foot facility and plans to welcome its inaugural class following a multi-year accreditation process now underway.
Stevens, a member of Nvidia’s board, first invested in the company in the early 1990s while at Sequoia Capital, which he joined after roles at Intel and Hughes Aircraft. He now invests through his family office, S-Cubed Capital, and owns a stake in the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Stevens has an estimated net worth of $12.2 billion.
Mary Stevens has longstanding ties to Santa Clara. A 1984 graduate, she played on the university’s women’s soccer team and has served on its board of trustees for more than a decade. The partnership with Sutter Health represents “a perfect match between two organizations that share a deep mutual respect, a dedication to educating compassionate healers, and a commitment to serving the greater good,” she said in a statement.
Santa Clara’s alumni also include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who described the new school as an example of how the state is “stepping up” at a time “when we need more doctors in more communities.”
Nvidia’s soaring market value is fueling philanthropy
Nvidia’s soaring valuation has fueled a wave of philanthropy among its top shareholders. Stevens is one of the company’s three largest individual shareholders, alongside board member Tench Coxe, worth an estimated $8.6 billion, and CEO Jensen Huang, whose net worth is estimated at $191.3 billion.
All three have directed portions of their wealth toward charitable causes. Earlier this year, Coxe and his wife, Simone, donated $100 million to the University of Texas Medical Center in Austin. Huang has also made a series of education-focused gifts, including a $22.5 million donation to the California College of the Arts in 2025.
Founded in 1993, Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company amid surging demand for A.I. chips, reaching a market capitalization of $5.3 trillion. Since going public in 1999, its shares have risen more than 550,000 percent, creating a new class of ultra-wealthy tech executives.
Other Nvidia leaders have also contributed to philanthropic efforts. Debora Shoquist, the company’s executive vice president of operations, donated $25 million to Santa Clara in April to launch an A.I. hub. That same month, Roger Bringmann, Nvidia’s vice president of software compilers, donated $50 million to Austin Christian University in Texas.
For the Stevenses, the donation adds to a growing portfolio of high-profile gifts. It comes just weeks after they pledged $200 million to the University of Southern California to expand A.I. research and education, where Mark Stevens earned multiple degrees.
The couple have long supported their alma maters. In addition to multimillion-dollar contributions to USC, they have donated nearly $40 million to Santa Clara’s athletic facilities and programs. Beyond academia, their philanthropy includes support for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, and Oasis, a San Francisco drag cabaret venue. They have been signatories of the Giving Pledge since 2013.
