NVIDIA’s next-gen AI chips, built on the Blackwell architecture, are expected to launch this quarter after a brief delay due to hardware issues. Initially, TSMC, NVIDIA’s manufacturing partner, was believed to be responsible for the complications. However, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang clarified the situation in a recent interview with Reuters, taking full responsibility and stating, *“NVIDIA is 100% to blame.”*
This issue came to light in August when Huang informed investors of the need for adjustments to Blackwell chips due to design flaws, pushing their release to the last quarter of the year. In the interview, Huang acknowledged that TSMC had played a significant role in helping NVIDIA address and resolve the problem, demonstrating the strong collaborative relationship between the companies.
“We had a design flaw in the Blackwell. It was functional, but the design flaw caused performance to be low. It was 100% Nvidia’s fault. In order for a Blackwell computer to work, seven different types of chips were designed from scratch and they had to be put into production simultaneously. What TSMC did was help us recover from this yield difficulty and resume Blackwell manufacturing at an incredible pace.”
NVIDIA’s strength comes from chips like Blackwell
Jensen Huang has assured that the issues surrounding NVIDIA’s Blackwell chips have been resolved, with plans to deliver these highly anticipated AI chips to major clients like Google, Microsoft, and Meta within the current quarter, specifically by December. The Blackwell architecture has garnered significant interest in the industry, contributing to NVIDIA’s status as one of the most valuable companies globally due to the soaring demand for AI-related products.
While AMD and Intel are also players in the AI chip market, they have yet to match NVIDIA’s performance and market presence. Intel, in particular, has shifted its focus toward energy-efficient solutions targeted at smaller enterprises rather than competing directly with NVIDIA’s major clients.
In addition to AI chips, NVIDIA is also preparing to release a new line of graphics cards for gamers. The upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series, which will also utilize the Blackwell architecture with optimizations tailored for gaming, is anticipated to launch in the first quarter of 2025. However, no official announcements have been made regarding the exact timeline for this release.
