Monday, March 18, 2024 6:17:17 PM
6:11 PM ET, 03/18/2024 - Reuters
(Adds software announcement, analyst comments, updates shares, paragraphs 1-3, 7-8, 12-13, 15)
By Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis
SAN JOSE, California, March 18 (Reuters) - A rtificial-intelligence semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia on Monday unveiled a flagship AI chip, the Blackwell B200, saying it is up to 30 times speedier than its previous chip.
Chief Executive Jensen Huang, kicking off the company's annual developer conference, also launched a new set of software tools designed to help developers sell their artificial-intelligence models more easily to any company that uses Nvidia. Nvidia's chip and software announcements at GTC 2024 will help determine whether the company can maintain its leadership position as the dominant seller of AI equipment. Nvidia had a roughly 80% share of the data center AI chip market last year.
"I hope you realize this is not a concert," Huang, wearing his trademark black leather jacket, said after taking the stage, in a nod to the rising profile of his company.
The B200 takes two chips the size of Nvidia's previous offering and binds them together into a single chip.
The new chip has 208 billion transistors, more than double the 80 billion on the company's previous chip. All of those transistors can access the memory attached to the chip at nearly the same time, improving productivity.
Tom Plumb, CEO and portfolio manager at Plumb Funds, which has Nvidia as one of its largest holdings, said the Blackwell chip was not a surprise.
"But it reinforces that this company is still at the cutting edge and the leader in all graphics processing. That doesn't mean the market is not going to be big enough for AMD and others to come in. But it shows that their lead is pretty insurmountable," said Plumb.
Insider Intelligence analyst Jacob Bourne said Nvidia could solidify its AI dominance. "However, rivals like AMD, Intel, startups, and even Big Tech's own chip aspirations threaten to chip away at Nvidia's market share, particularly among cost-conscious enterprise customers," he said.
Nvidia said major customers, including Amazon.com, Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, Microsoft , OpenAI, Oracle and Tesla, are expected to use the new chip.
Nvidia also is shifting from selling single chips to selling total systems. Its latest iteration houses 72 of its AI chips, 36 central processors and contains 600,000 parts and weighs 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg).
Though Nvidia is widely regarded as a chip designer, the company has built a significant battery of software products as well.
The new software tools, called microservices, improve system efficiency across a wide variety of uses, making it easier for a business to incorporate an AI model into its work, just as a good computer operating system can help apps work well.
Nvidia's shares have surged 240% over the past 12 months, making Nvidia the U.S. stock market's third-most valuable company, behind only Microsoft and Apple.
Nvidia stock dipped 1% in extended trade on Monday, while Super Micro Computer, which makes AI-optimized servers with Nvidia's chips, fell 4%. Advanced Micro Devices stock dipped nearly 3% during Huang's keynote address.
Its stellar 12-month rally leaves Nvidia's stock at risk of plummeting back to earth if the Santa Clara, California, company fails to expand its AI business as much as investors expect.
Nvidia's market share is expected to drop several percentage points in 2024 as new products from rivals such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices hit the market.
Huang spoke at a Silicon Valley hockey arena to accommodate its largest crowd for its annual conference.
Huang also announced partnerships with design software companies Ansys, Cadence and Synopsys . Shares of the three companies jumped around 3% in extended trade following Huang's comments.
Recent NVDA News
- U.S. Stocks Close Higher; Nasdaq Outperforms • IH Market News • 07/01/2024 09:10:17 PM
- Interactive Brokers Loses $48 Million on NYSE, Amazon Achieves Historic Market Value, and More News • IH Market News • 06/27/2024 11:13:41 AM
- Doordash and Deliveroo Terminate Talks; Universal Announces UK Theme Park Plan, and More News • IH Market News • 06/26/2024 11:08:35 AM
- Dow Dips, Nasdaq Gains, Oil Prices Rise • IH Market News • 06/26/2024 11:00:03 AM
- U.S. Stocks Close On Mixed Note Again; Technology Stocks Rebound • IH Market News • 06/25/2024 10:00:00 PM
- U.S. Index Futures Mixed Following Tech Sell-Off, WTI and Brent Crude Dip Slightly • IH Market News • 06/25/2024 10:37:15 AM
- SolarEdge Stock Falls 13%, Wegovy Approved in China, Grail Nasdaq Debut, Apple Rejects Meta Chatbot • IH Market News • 06/25/2024 10:36:11 AM
- U.S. Stocks End Mixed After Cautious Session • IH Market News • 06/24/2024 09:01:19 PM
- DIGIASIA Corp Advances into AI Solutions for Financial Services, Telecom, and Government Sectors with NVIDIA GPU Allocation • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 06/24/2024 08:05:00 PM
- Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street • IH Market News • 06/24/2024 01:08:46 PM
- U.S. Index Futures Show Mixed Results, Oil Prices Edge Lower • IH Market News • 06/24/2024 11:01:54 AM
- UPS Divests Coyote Logistics in $1.025 Billion Deal with RXO, Under Armour Agrees to $434 million Settlement, and More News • IH Market News • 06/24/2024 11:00:20 AM
- U.S. Stocks Close Mixed Following Lackluster Session • IH Market News • 06/21/2024 08:38:41 PM
- Honeywell Acquires CAES Systems for $1.9 Billion, Sarepta Therapeutics Surges 34%, Gilead Continues Gains • IH Market News • 06/21/2024 12:00:38 PM
- U.S. Futures Decline Ahead of Triple Witching, Oil Prices Edge Lower • IH Market News • 06/21/2024 12:00:27 PM
- Dow Closes Firmly Positive But Nasdaq, S&P 500 Give Back Ground • IH Market News • 06/20/2024 08:30:11 PM
- Nvidia May Lead Early Upward Move On Wall Street • IH Market News • 06/20/2024 01:10:49 PM
- U.S. Index Futures Surge; Oil Prices Increase • IH Market News • 06/20/2024 10:56:57 AM
- Trump Media Resells Stocks and Warrants; KB Home Exceeds Q2 Expectations, and More News • IH Market News • 06/20/2024 10:55:11 AM
- Nvidia Overtakes Microsoft To Become World’s Most Valuable Company • IH Market News • 06/19/2024 09:32:08 AM
- Form 144 - Report of proposed sale of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 06/18/2024 09:16:15 PM
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NVIDIA Announce ‘NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE’ to Accelerate Generative AI Industrial Revolution • Business Wire • 06/18/2024 04:30:00 PM
- Fisker Files for Bankruptcy, Chegg Stocks Rise on 23% Workforce Reduction, and More • IH Market News • 06/18/2024 11:02:13 AM
- Form 144 - Report of proposed sale of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 06/17/2024 09:06:07 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 06/17/2024 09:00:47 PM
NUBURU Announces Upcoming TV Interview Featuring CEO Brian Knaley on Fox Business, Bloomberg TV, and Newsmax TV as Sponsored Programming • BURU • Jul 1, 2024 1:57 PM
Mass Megawatts Announces $220,500 Debt Cancellation Agreement to Improve Financing and Sales of a New Product to be Announced on July 11 • MMMW • Jun 28, 2024 7:30 AM
VAYK Exited Caribbean Investments for $320,000 Profit • VAYK • Jun 27, 2024 9:00 AM
North Bay Resources Announces Successful Flotation Cell Test at Bishop Gold Mill, Inyo County, California • NBRI • Jun 27, 2024 9:00 AM
Branded Legacy, Inc. and Hemp Emu Announce Strategic Partnership to Enhance CBD Product Manufacturing • BLEG • Jun 27, 2024 8:30 AM
POET Wins "Best Optical AI Solution" in 2024 AI Breakthrough Awards Program • POET • Jun 26, 2024 10:09 AM