Huang says scarce memory and wafers work in NVIDIA’s favor
© NVIDIA NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made an interesting comment this week during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, saying that “ the fact that everything is scarce is fantastic for us. ” The remark came during a discussion about AI infrastructure, where supply limits on memory, wafers, packaging, power, and data center capacity were all raised as bottlenecks. So it wasn’t strictly about gaming products.
Huang argued that constraints push customers toward the highest-performing option, and said NVIDIA is in a position to benefit because it can secure large amounts of supply across the full chain. He said the company has locked down memory, wafers, CoWoS packaging, systems, cables, and other components needed to deploy AI factories at scale.
“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.
— Jensen Huang at Morgan Stanley Technology conference
The comment is controversial because those same shortages have already affected the wider market, including gaming hardware. NVIDIA has previously said supply constraints would be a headwind for gaming, while memory makers and board partners have also pointed to limited supply across key components.
I think NVIDIA’s traditional core customers, gamers, are not as enthusiastic about scarcity. Hyperscalers, AI firms, and investors certainly are.
I love constraints. I love constraints. The reason for that is because in a world of constraint, you have no choice but to choose the best. You can’t squander your choice. If the data centers, if the land, power, and shell is constrained, you’re not gonna randomly put something in there, just to try it out.
You’re gonna put something that you know for certain is gonna deliver the tokens per watt that you know for certain is going to allow you 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. You know, anybody here that needs an AI factory, you know, I’m happy to help.
— Jensen Huang at Morgan Stanley Technology conference
From NVIDIA’s perspective, the statement reflects scale and purchasing power. The company’s balance sheet allows it to reserve capacity that smaller rivals cannot match. For the rest of the market, however, it is another reminder that the AI buildout continues to absorb supply that would otherwise go to broader PC and gaming segments. But hey, at least we will get RTX 5050 9GB , so it is claimed.
Source: Investing via PC Gamer
