Bad news for the tech sector. Nvidia has informed its key clients, including Microsoft, that the arrival of its anticipated generation of artificial intelligence chips, known as Blackwell, will be delayed three months longer than expected. This delay, announced by The Information, is due to a design flaw discovered late in the manufacturing process.
The cause of the delay is attributed to a design flaw that was detected "unusually late," according to two anonymous sources, including a Microsoft employee. Originally, Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, had anticipated the launch of the Blackwell chips for the third quarter of 2024, in response to high demand from cloud providers. Huang stated in May that "people want to deploy data centers right now."
The B200 chips, part of the Blackwell series, will succeed the highly sought-after H100 chips, which have played a crucial role in advancing cloud-based AI. Nvidia expects the production of these limited chips to increase in the second half of the year, according to Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo's statement to The Verge.
Impact on the Technology Market
The delay in the production of the Blackwell chips has caused significant turmoil in the tech industry. Major companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta, which had invested billions of dollars in orders for these chips, now face an unexpected delay. According to an internal document, Microsoft aims to accumulate 1.8 million GPUs by December 2024, reflecting the urgency and importance of these chips in expanding their AI capabilities.
The delay in the availability of the Blackwell chips until the first quarter of 2025 is a considerable setback for the major tech companies that had planned their integration for 2024. Nvidia is working closely with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on a new series of tests to ensure the quality and functionality of the chips before their final release.
Despite these setbacks, Nvidia continues to lead the artificial intelligence chip market. The accumulation and persistent demand for its products demonstrate the industry's confidence in Nvidia's ability to overcome these challenges and meet long-term expectations.
Expectations
Artificial intelligence remains a rapidly expanding field, and advances in hardware are crucial to its progress. The delay in the production of the Blackwell chips highlights the technical and logistical challenges faced even by market leaders like Nvidia. However, the company is determined to meet market demands and maintain its dominant position.
As companies adjust their plans in response to this delay, the industry closely watches how Nvidia handles the situation. The company's ability to resolve design issues and accelerate production will be crucial to meeting its clients' expectations and needs.
