NVIDIA suspends development of the dual-chassis version GB200 (NVL36×2) AI server

Zhitong
2024.10.02 07:03
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NVIDIA announced the suspension of the development of the dual-chassis version GB200 (NVL36×2) AI server, only providing the single-chassis versions GB200 NVL72 and NVL36. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out that this move is due to limited resources and customer preferences. Although it will not affect NVIDIA's long-term trend, it has raised doubts about its supply chain execution capabilities. NVIDIA's frequent changes in product roadmaps demonstrate its efforts to seek a better balance under limited resources

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that without custom requirements from customers, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) will no longer offer the dual-cabinet version GB200 (NVL36×2) AI server, and will only provide the single-cabinet versions GB200 NVL72 and NVL36. The reason for NVIDIA's move is reportedly due to limited resources and customer preferences.

Kuo added that this move will not affect artificial intelligence or NVIDIA's long-term trends, but it does raise questions about the company's and its supply chain's execution capabilities.

Kuo explained, "In my view, NVIDIA's recent frequent changes to the AI server product roadmap reflect their attempt to achieve a better balance between supply chain execution, competitive advantage, and customer demand with limited resources (stopping the development of NVL36×2 is an example)." "This is a good thing, indicating that NVIDIA is taking a more pragmatic approach to product planning, but this shift may confuse some market participants about changes in the supply chain."

Initially, NVIDIA planned to develop three AI server cabinets based on the Blackwell GPU GB200 for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, namely NVL36, NVL72, and NVL36×2. However, managing all three projects became challenging, especially when developing two different 72 GPU versions simultaneously (NVL72 and NVL36×2). Therefore, NVIDIA is now focusing only on NVL72 and NVL36.

NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 rack contains 18 compute trays and 9 NVSwitch trays (18 NVSwitch ASICs), with each tray having two Bianca boards, each board with one Grace CPU and two Blackwell GPUs. This is NVIDIA's most powerful product, but also the highest power-consuming solution, consuming about 120kW.

Previously, analysts at Morgan Stanley pointed out that NVIDIA is more willing to sell AI server cabinets equipped with Blackwell GPUs. NVL36 is equipped with 36 B200 GPUs, with an expected price range of $1.8 million to $2 million, while NVL72 with 72 B200 GPUs is expected to start at $3 million. Selling cabinets is much more profitable compared to GPUs, GPU modules, or even DGX and HGX servers. In this scenario, NVIDIA can earn $10 billion in revenue without needing to provide 450,000 GPUs

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