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Nvidia’s $46.7B Q2 proves the platform, but its next fight is ASIC economics on inference
Behind Nvidia's strong quarterlyu results are ASICs gaining ground in key Nvidia segments, challenging their growth in the quarters to come.
MetricNvidia BlackwellGoogle TPU v5e/v6AWS Trainium/Inferentia2Intel Gaudi2/3Broadcom Jericho3-AIPrimary Use Cases Training, inference, generative AIHyperscale training & inferenceAWS-focused training & inferenceTraining, inference, hybrid-cloud deploymentsAI cluster networking Performance Claims Up to 50x improvement over Hopper*67% improvement TPU v6 vs v5*Comparable GPU performance at lower power*2-4x price-performance vs prior gen*InfiniBand parity on Ethernet* Cost Position Premium pricing, comprehensive ecosystemSignificant savings vs GPUs per Google*Aggressive pricing per AWS marketing*Budget alternative positioning*Lower networking TCO per vendor* Ecosystem Lock-In Moderate (CUDA, proprietary)High (Google Cloud, TensorFlow/JAX)High (AWS, proprietary Neuron SDK)Moderate (supports open stack)Low (Ethernet-based standards) Availability Universal (cloud, OEM)Google Cloud-exclusiveAWS-exclusiveMultiple cloud and on-premiseBroadcom direct, OEM integrators Strategic Appeal Proven scale, broad supportCloud workload optimizationAWS integration advantagesMulti-cloud flexibilitySimplified networking Market Position Leadership with margin pressureGrowing in specific workloadsExpanding within AWSEmerging alternativeInfrastructure enabler*Performance-per-watt improvements and cost savings depend on specific workload characteristics, model types, deployment configurations and vendor testing assumptions. Huang’s comments highlighted how “orders of magnitude speed up” from new platforms like Blackwell and innovations in NVLink, InfiniBand, and Spectrum XGS networking redefine the economic returns for customers’ data center capital. VentureBeat expects technology buyers to follow the path of fund managers, betting on both Nvidia to sustain its lucrative customer base and ASIC competitors to secure design wins as intensifying competition drives greater market fragmentation.
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