As the world reels from the consequences of the AI boom, Nvidia — both a benefactor and beneficiary — is busy enjoying its fruits. Speaking at a press conference recently, CEO Jensen Huang shared his views on various topics, but the bulk of the discussion focused on bottlenecks in data center buildouts. This is where he went on a pro-scarcity line of thought that can best be described as controversial.
"I love constraints... Because in a world of constraint, you have no choice but to choose the best," said Huang. He explained that a lack of options will force companies to go with the highest-end hardware instead of experimenting with cheaper alternatives. AI firms won’t fill their data centers with arbitrary hardware when “land, power, and shell are constrained."
The exec left no room for subtlety by doubling down on his argument and saying, "Because everything is so constrained, if [I] choose poorly, [my] revenues are affected, everything is affected. They can’t choose poorly." Those words reflect an almost unapologetic perspective that champions efficiency. When supply becomes tight, no one wants to take risks, so the safest bet becomes the most sensible one.
And it's not just GPUs that Nvidia has; it can lay down the entire infrastructure of a data center, which Jensen kindly reminded everyone of: "From the moment you secure the capacity, we’re gonna be able to stand up an entire factory for you. We’re the only company in the world that can come into your company and help you stand up an entire AI factory."
These comments are more specific than broad strokes about how the prevailing component shortages are actually beneficial to the trillion-dollar corporation. But the thing is, AI eating up all the production lines affects everyone else, too, like gamers, who are now left with triple-priced memory and storage. GPUs are getting more expensive as well, and the AI boom is showing no signs of slowing down.
"You know, if you set up a factory, a plant, a DRAM plant, and I come in and say, “You know what? Go ahead and set up the DRAM plant because I’m gonna use it,” that goes a long way. You might as well take that to the bank, as many of them have. I think the fact that everything is scarce is fantastic for us." That last line might be particularly irksome because it's so disconnected from what the average person is experiencing.
Gaming accounts for only 8-9% of Nvidia's total revenue, with data centers by far the largest contributor, so it's no surprise the company is happy to sell the AGI dream. Enthusiasts going bankrupt thanks to their next RAM purchase is not Nvidia's concern.
Huang ended his thoughts by saying, "I've got all the memories, I've got all the wafers, I got all the CoWoS," referring to how his company is basically the strongest negotiator in the industry right now. He added, "I've got all the packaging, I've got all the systems, I've got all the connectors, I got all the cables. Everything from copper to multilayer ceramic capacitors, everything is secured."
As for the regular earthlings, make sure you enjoy that 9 GB RTX 5050.
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