Nvidia CEO Claims 'Insane' Demand for AI Chips

On Thursday, Nvidia's stock (NVDA) climbed nearly 3%, contributing to a year-to-date increase of over 150%. The company announced that it shipped samples of its new AI chip, Blackwell, to customers during the second quarter, with significant production growth anticipated in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. CEO Jensen Huang reported an "insane" level of demand for Blackwell, which is now in full-scale production, as clients rush to secure their market position.

To enhance production yield, Nvidia adjusted the GPU mask for Blackwell; however, Huang emphasized that "there were no functional changes necessary." Earlier concerns about potential design flaws had raised the possibility of delivery delays of at least three months, yet Nvidia remains optimistic about generating several billion dollars in revenue from Blackwell in the upcoming quarter, as reported by Quartz.

Huang also highlighted that demand for Blackwell far surpasses the current supply, creating fierce competition among customers.

According to CNBC, the anticipated price of Blackwell units is between US$30,000 and US$40,000, with strong interest from companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta, which are developing AI data centers to support products like ChatGPT and Copilot. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress indicated in August that Nvidia expects to generate several billion dollars in revenue from Blackwell in the fourth fiscal quarter. Huang further noted that the company plans to release annual updates to its AI platform, aiming to boost performance by two to three times with each version.

“Given the rapid pace of technological advancement, we have an opportunity to intensify our efforts and drive the innovation cycle forward. This will allow us to enhance our capabilities, boost throughput, reduce costs, and lower energy consumption,” Huang stated during his interview with CNBC. “We are on track to achieve these objectives.”

As previously noted by MBN, Nvidia has stood out in the semiconductor market during the first half of 2024, with its shares skyrocketing by 156.5%. This surge has propelled Nvidia into the exclusive US$3 trillion market capitalization club, joining industry titans like Microsoft and Apple.