Nvidia is not the only firm cashing in on the AI gold rush

A GREY rectangular building on the outskirts of San Jose houses rows upon rows of blinking machines. Tangles of colourful wires connect high-end servers, networking gear and data storage systems. Bulky air-conditioning units whirr overhead. The noise forces visitors to shout.

The building belongs to Equinix, a company which leases data centre space. The equipment inside belongs to companies from corporate giants to startups, which are increasingly using it to run their artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The AI gold rush, spurred by the astounding sophistication of “generative” systems such as ChatGPT, a hit virtual conversationalist, promises to generate rich profits for those who harness the technology’s potential. As in the early days of any gold rush, though, it is already minting fortunes for the sellers of the requisite picks and shovels.

On May 24, Nvidia, which designs the semiconductors of choice for many AI servers, beat analysts’ revenue and profit forecasts for the three months to April. As its share price leapt by 30 per cent the next day, the company’s market value flirted with US$1 trillion. Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, declared on May 29 that the world is at “the tipping point of a new computing era”.