Forward-looking: Whether we like it or not, computer manufacturers are going all in on "AI PCs." While they have consisted of less than groundbreaking Copilot keys and generally generic AI software integration, OEMs will undoubtedly continue to innovate to make their products more useful, relevant, and unique. Lenovo's latest proof of concept is a case in point.
Listen for the pop: Nvidia has achieved several records recently, thanks to its dominance of the advanced AI hardware market, but this is one it doesn't want: Team Green just saw around $279 billion wiped off its market cap, the largest one-day drop in US history. Other companies in the tech industry also saw their share prices fall following the publication of weak economic data. The turmoil appears to be an indicator that the AI bubble might be starting to burst.
What just happened? Adding more weight to the argument that Nvidia is more of an AI company than a gaming firm these days, Team Green has updated its GeForce RTX branding. Now, the badge includes a tagline that reads, "Powering Advanced AI," highlighting the technology that has turned Nvidia into the world's third most valuable company.
In context: The first official performance benchmarks for AMD's Instinct MI300X accelerator designed for data center and AI applications have surfaced. Compared to Nvidia's Hopper, the new chip secured mixed results in MLPerf Inference v4.1, an industry-standard benchmarking tool for AI systems with workloads designed to evaluate AI accelerator training and inference performance.
Bottom line: The strategic rationale behind AMD acquiring ZT makes sense, to a point, but $5 billion is a lot to pay, especially when the true value of the transaction relies heavily on the price AMD will get when they spin off ZT's manufacturing unit.