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Jim Keller: Nvidia will become 'the IBM of the AI era'

Haebom
A while ago, I was talking with @ChoiJunWon about promising companies of the future. I was wondering what the future holds, but I mentioned that unless IBM and Oracle properly replace themselves, things will be tough. Then, in the RUMOA group chat, we were discussing chips, and I was interested in Tenstorrent. Then, I came across an article by Jim Keller, a former Apple and Tesla engineer, comparing Nvidia's AI chips to IBM's dominance in the PC market in the 1980s.
우리는 짐 켈러(Jim Keller)의 시대에 살고 있다.
Jim Keller is renowned as a legendary engineer in the semiconductor industry. His career is remarkably diverse and impactful: At AMD, he designed the K7 and K8 architectures, leading to a company turnaround; at Apple, he contributed to the development of the A4 and A5 processors, which brought major performance breakthroughs to the iPhone and iPad. At Tesla, he spearheaded the development of chips for self-driving, and later held a crucial role at Intel as well.
On this week's DemystifySci podcast, Jim Keller, former lead engineer at Apple and Tesla, talked about Nvidia. Now running his own AI chip startup, Keller stressed that Nvidia is currently selling “the best processor in terms of functionality,” with major tech companies fiercely competing to secure Nvidia chips.
Jim Keller, with experience at AMD, Apple, and Tesla, and now CEO of an AI chip startup competing with Nvidia, remarked, “Nvidia is becoming the IBM of the AI era.” On Sunday's DemystifySci podcast, Keller discussed Nvidia's AI chips, highlighting how companies like Microsoft and Google are relying on Nvidia's technology to drive their innovation. “Big tech firms are all embroiled in an arms race, and they're all reaching out to Nvidia,” Keller noted.
Keller, who leads Tenstorrent—a $2 billion AI chip startup backed by Samsung and Hyundai—said Nvidia currently has “the best processor in terms of functionality.” He went on to say, “Nvidia is gradually becoming the IBM of the AI age. We'll have to wait and see how things unfold. As someone running an AI tech business myself, I have my own thoughts on this.” Nvidia is the market leader in AI chips with over 80% share. The company claims it has been investing in AI and machine learning development since 2006, which has helped secure its early lead in AI computing.
IBM can also be regarded as a pioneer in the PC market. While IBM didn't invent the PC, its 1981 personal desktop opened up computers to the broader public and earned $1 billion in revenue in its first year. According to IEEE Spectrum, IBM “set the technology standard” with its first PC.
Keller has also previously commented on the cost of AI chips from Nvidia and OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT (which is currently using Nvidia chips). In April, he claimed Nvidia was able to cut research and development costs; back in February, he said that AI processors could be made for every workload and business at just one-eighth of the costs suggested by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In March, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioned that the price of their next-generation AI chips will exceed $30,000.
Looking at all this, it's clear that Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market is only growing. Still, since there are ongoing challenges from competitors like Jim Keller, it's worth keeping an eye on how the market landscape might shift moving forward. Whether Nvidia will truly become the 'IBM of the AI era', or if a wave of fresh, innovative players will reshape the industry, only time will tell.
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