NVIDIA AI Blackwell chips facing delays

The launch of the AI/Data-center Blackwell encountered a setback due to design flaws.

Jensen Huang presenting GB200 Blackwell, Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA is currently under investigation for potential AI market abuse, according to The Information. This isn’t the only issue for the tech giant, as its Blackwell chips are now facing a slight delay due to a design flaw, it is claimed.

NVIDIA has not confirmed a release date for Blackwell, stating only that it has started sampling units to customers. However, The Information reports that NVIDIA has informed Microsoft, one of its major customers, about the delay. The issue appears to be a design flaw which requires the chip to be fixed, validated and put into production once again.

What’s perhaps even more important is that larger shipments of Blackwell chips are not expected before the first quarter of 2025, just as NVIDIA is expected to launch of the gaming variant of Blackwell.

Nvidia Corp.’s upcoming artificial intelligence chips will be delayed due to design flaws, The Information reports, citing two unidentified people who help produce the chip and its server hardware. The chips may be delayed by three months or more, which could affect Nvidia’s customers including Meta Platforms Inc., Google LLC and Microsoft Corp.

— Yi Wei Wong, Bloomberg

Information about NVIDIA’s situation reportedly comes from unidentified individuals involved in chip production. NVIDIA has not commented directly on the issues, only reiterating its plan to ramp up production later this year, according to Bloomberg.

According to DataCenterDynamics, NVIDIA is expected to ship over 60,000 GB200 NVL36 units. Each of these supercomputers contains 36 GB200 super chips paired with 18 Grace CPUs and is priced at $1.8 million per unit. The larger GB200 NVL72 unit is said to cost $3 million. NVIDIA is also offering individual GPUs as B100, which may cost between $30,000 and $35,000 per unit, and GB200 Super Chips, priced from $60,000 to $70,000 each.

Source: The Information via Bloomberg , DataCenterDynamics