diff --git a/contrib/nvidia/nvidia.go b/contrib/nvidia/nvidia.go
index e82a51e39..5a1d3c7f1 100644
--- a/contrib/nvidia/nvidia.go
+++ b/contrib/nvidia/nvidia.go
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ func WithGPUs(opts ...Opts) oci.SpecOpts {
 				"oci-hook",
 				"--",
 				nvidiaPath,
+				// ensures the required kernel modules are properly loaded
+				"--load-kmods",
 			}, c.args()...),
 			Env: os.Environ(),
 		})