In a sector dominated by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC), Nvidia’s entry into the space could shake up the market.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unexpectedly presented a $3,000 AI minicomputer. He showed a box that looked like a tiny computer cube. The CEO said that the computer could run all of Nvidia’s software. Dubbed Project Digits, the computer had a derivative of the Grace Blackwell GPU. Nvidia paired the GPU with an ARM CPU.
Neither AMD nor Intel needed to worry about the AI computer. Nvidia is targeting machine learning researchers and data scientists. This product will enable them to develop early models. This will save them money since it will cost less than the subscription fees paid for running the model on the cloud.
Nvidia also partnered with China’s MediaTek, which created the SOC (system-on-a-chip), named GB10.
Nvidia’s product launch is impressive since it widens its addressable market. The firm already cut its reliance on cryptocurrency mining and PC gaming. Eventually, it may rely less on AI servers with an affordable product in a niche market.
The relatively low price will prevent HP Inc. (HPQ), Dell Technologies (DELL), Intel, or AMD from competing effectively. Customers who previously needed a $100 million supercomputer may not use this $3,000 machine instead.