‘I don’t believe we are in an AI bubble,’ Nvidia CEO says as he claims a ‘quite extraordinary’ turning point in the AI industry that justifies costly computing infrastructure

“I don’t believe we are in an AI bubble,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a Bloomberg Television interview, after telling attendees at the company’s first GTC conference in Washington that the industry has reached a “quite extraordinary” turning point where customers are now willing to pay for advanced AI services, justifying the costly build-out of computing infrastructure.

Mr Huang said Nvidia’s Blackwell processor, its flagship AI accelerator, and the newer Rubin model are expected to generate about half a trillion dollars (S$1.29 trillion) in revenue through 2026, as reported by Bloomberg.

At the event, the chipmaker announced partnerships with companies including Uber, Palantir, and CrowdStrike, and unveiled a new system linking quantum computers with its AI chips. Nvidia is also planning a €1 billion (S$1.51 billion) data centre in Germany with Deutsche Telekom and has announced an investment deal with Nokia. More partnerships are expected in South Korea with Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group.

“We have now reached our virtuous cycle, our inflection point,” Mr Huang told attendees at the event.

Earlier this month, GIC group chief investment officer Bryan Yeo warned of a “hype bubble” forming in early-stage AI venture investing, as AI took the largest share of venture capital funding this year.

So far this year, venture capitalists have already poured US$192.7 billion (S$249.11 billion) into AI start-ups, a record figure that could make this the first year where over half of global venture capital went into the industry.

Bloomberg reported that Mr Huang’s remarks helped calm fears of an AI bubble, pushing Nvidia shares up 5% to a record close of US$201.03 on Tuesday.

Mr Huang said Nvidia plans to ship 20 million units of its newest chips, compared to just four million units from the entire lifetime of its previous-generation chip, Hopper. /TISG

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