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TL;DR Nvidia has the best performance. Qualcomm is matches Nvidia with performance per watt. Every chip that can run models sells for profit, because demand is
by nabla9 3y ago
TL;DR Nvidia has the best performance. Qualcomm is matches Nvidia with performance per watt.
Every chip that can run models sells for profit, because demand is so much higher than supply. The difference is profit margin. Nvidia gets something 90% profit margin for their server chips because their performance is better. Others must adjust until their price/performance ratio matches Nvidias.
Next 1-2 years Nvidia prints money, but the money printing machines are owned by TSMC and their capacity for next few years is locked in.
- gmays 3y agoTSMC has worked to convert some older fabs to open up more capacity, so I'll be curious to see if that and other improvements yield any additional capacity, given the incentives. One interesting question is why TSMC isn't taking more profit. I believe it's because Jensen (Nvidia CEO) is quite shrewd and doing his best to ensure there's always a backup plan. Intel is also doing its best at working towards competing with TSMC here (with the support of the US govt), but TSMC's primary advantage seems to be cultural, which is hard to replicate.
- nabla9 3y agoDeals are for advanced nodes are negotiated year or more before the manufacturing starts. Apple pays most for TSMC, so they get first take. Nvidia is close second.
- gmays 3y agoYeah, I think Nvidia drives around half as much of TSMC's revenue as Apple does...for now. With iPhone demand decreasing as the purchase cycle elongates (Vision Pro still low volume) and AI demand surges, it'll be interesting to see how much this gap closes. Other Nvidia competitors will certainly emerge over time, which also incentivizes Nvidia to take up as much quota as they can.