IMPORTANT POINTS:
- Nvidia accelerates the launch of its Rubin AI chip architecture, months after announcing Blackwell.
- Competitors such as AMD, Intel, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are looking to catch up to Nvidia in the AI chip market.
- The new Rubin platform will include advanced GPUs and a central processor called Vera.
Nvidia (NVDA) on Sunday announced its next generation of AI chips to succeed the previous model, which was introduced just a few months earlier in March.
New Rubin architecture
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed the new AI chip architecture, dubbed “Rubin,” ahead of the COMPUTEX technology conference in Taipei.
Rubin comes just months after the March announcement of the upcoming “Blackwell” model, which is still in production and expected to ship to customers later in 2024.
Huang’s announcement about Rubin appears to accelerate Nvidia’s already rapid pace of advancement in AI chips.
Nvidia has committed to releasing new models of AI chips on a “one-year pace,” Huang said on Sunday. Previously, the company operated on a slower, two-year refresh timeline for chips.
The switch from Blackwell to Rubin was a matter of less than three months, underscoring the frenetic competition in the AI chip market and Nvidia’s race to preserve its dominant position.
Competition in the AI chip market
AMD (AMD) and Intel (INTC) are two major competitors working to catch up, although their gross margins were lower than Nvidia’s in the most recent fiscal quarter. Companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) are also vying for Nvidia’s top spot, even while they are some of Nvidia’s biggest customers. A swarm of startups are also working to enter the space.
“Today, we are on the verge of a major shift in computing. “With our innovations in AI and accelerated computing, we are pushing the boundaries of what is possible and driving the next wave of technological advancement.”Huang on Sunday.
Rubin chip features
The Rubin chip platform will have new GPUs, the crucial graphics processing technology that helps train and launch AI systems. It will also come with other new features, such as a central processor called “Vera”, although Sunday’s announcement did not provide many details.
Market Performance
Nvidia shares remained relatively stable as of Friday’s market close, with shares trading at $1,096.
