Nvidia's Blackwell Reworked – Shipment Delays and GB200A Reworked Platforms

Nvidia's Blackwell family is facing significant production challenges, leading to shipment delays that will affect their targets for Q3/Q4 2024 and the first half of 2025. The company is extending the lifespan of its Hopper products to mitigate revenue losses from these delays. Technical difficulties have prompted Nvidia to develop new systems, impacting numerous suppliers. The GB200 chip, part of the Blackwell family, is particularly complex, achieving unprecedented power density but encountering issues with power delivery, overheating, and water cooling supply chains. The core problem lies in the packaging of the Blackwell architecture, specifically with TSMC's CoWoS-L technology, which is struggling to meet demand due to capacity limitations and design challenges. As a result, Nvidia is shifting focus to the GB200 NVL36 and NVL72 systems while canceling some lower-volume products. To address market needs, Nvidia will introduce the B200A GPU, which will utilize a simpler CoWoS-S packaging and cater to lower-end AI systems. The B200A will also have an Ultra version, enhancing performance without increasing memory. The GB200 NVL72/36x2 remains attractive for hyperscalers, while the MGX NVL36 is positioned as a flexible option for various data center environments. Overall, the delays and design issues are reshaping Nvidia's product offerings and supply chain dynamics, with implications for both customers and suppliers in the AI hardware market.