Nvidia says AI chip on track amid fears over flaws

Agencies and staff reporter

Nvidia said it was on track to ramp up production of its most advanced artificial intelligence chip, following reports of a delay in its launch due to design flaws.

Tech journal The Information had reported that design flaws on its new Blackwell chip could cause a delay of three months or more and the setback could affect customers such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft, which have collectively ordered tens of billions of US dollars' worth of chips.

The chip giant's Blackwell series succeeds its earlier flagship AI chip, the Grace Hopper Superchip.

In response, a Nvidia spokesman said "Hopper demand is very strong, broad Blackwell sampling has started, and production is on track to ramp in the second half."

Elliott Management has told investors megacap technology stocks, particularly Nvidia, are in "bubble land," the Financial Times reported.

In other news, Berkshire Hathaway cut its stake in Apple by almost 50 percent as part of a second-quarter selling spree that sent billionaire Warren Buffett's cash pile to a record US$276.9 billion (HK$2.16 trillion).

Buffett was unloading shares as the S&P 500 stock index rallied, setting a record high in mid-July, though the index has declined in each of the past three weeks on concern that AI euphoria had gotten overdone. Last Friday, weak labour data underscored the risk of an economic downturn, and the S&P dipped 1.8 percent while Nasdaq Composite index extended recent declines to fall 10 percent below its record high, confirming it was in correction territory.