NVIDIA Pre-Pours Billions: Securing AI & HPC GPU Fuel for 2024
NVIDIA, a titan in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications, currently surpasses its industry peers in chip sales. To maintain this dominance, a steady supply chain is imperative. This necessity has led NVIDIA, over the past few years, to invest a substantial sum in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), reserving both chip and packaging capacities. With the soaring demand for high-end computing cards, NVIDIA’s need for HBM-class products has also escalated, necessitating a similarly stable supply.
As reported by Chosun Biz, NVIDIA has made advance payments of approximately $540 to $770 million each to SK Hynix and Micron, securing the supply of the next-generation HBM3E. This places the total value somewhere between $1.08 and $1.54 billion. Industry speculation suggests that NVIDIA’s strategy is aimed at ensuring the supply of AI and HPC GPUs for 2024.
NVIDIA has introduced two products equipped with HBM3E: the H200, a data center GPU, and the GH200, a fusion of the H200 GPU and the Grace CPU. NVIDIA offers not just the GPU chips but complete PCIe expansion cards and SXM modules, necessitating the acquisition of HBM3E. Due to the overwhelming popularity of these new products, NVIDIA has had to increase its purchasing volume, making advance payments a strategic necessity.
The growing demand for solutions in AI and HPC has led to a surge in the need for HBM-class products. By proactively securing the supply of HBM3 and HBM3E through advance payments, NVIDIA is strategically positioning itself to further solidify its leadership in the burgeoning AI hardware market in 2024.
