Nvidia Denies H100 and H200 GPU Shortage, Says Supply is Keeping Pace with "Surging Demand"


In the face of widespread industry reports of months-long waitlists, the tech giant asserts its supply chain is robust and meeting the unprecedented demand for its flagship AI accelerators.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The voracious global appetite for artificial intelligence computing power has placed Nvidia Corporation squarely at the center of the biggest technology revolution in a decade. Its H100 Tensor Core GPU, and its recently announced successor, the H200, have become the undisputed workhorses powering the large language models and advanced AI systems of every major tech conglomerate. With demand skyrocketing, reports of a severe shortage and wait times stretching into 2024 have become commonplace. However, Nvidia is now pushing back against that narrative.

In a recent statement, a spokesperson for Nvidia firmly denied that there is a critical shortage of its H100 and H200 GPUs, asserting that the company’s supply remains strong and is successfully scaling to meet what it describes as "surging demand."

"Are they hard to get? Absolutely. Every company on the planet wants them. But to call it a 'shortage' implies a failure in supply, which is not the case," said a source familiar with Nvidia’s distribution strategy. "We are producing and shipping an unprecedented number of GPUs quarter after quarter. The demand is just growing even faster."

The Heart of the AI Gold Rush

To understand the context, one must look at the numbers. A single Nvidia H100 GPU can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000, and they are rarely purchased alone. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Oracle are ordering them by the tens of thousands, building data center clusters that represent investments in the billions.

This insatiable demand has naturally created a bottleneck. Lead times from major server manufacturers like Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have been reported to extend to 36 to 52 weeks. This has led to a thriving secondary market, where these coveted chips are sometimes resold at significant markups.

Nvidia's Position: A Supply Chain Triumph

Nvidia’s counterargument hinges on the sheer volume of its output. The company has worked intensely with its manufacturing partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to secure advanced packaging capacity—a key bottleneck in the production of these complex chips.

CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly highlighted the company's efforts to ensure a steady supply. On the last earnings call, which shattered Wall Street expectations, Huang stated, "We have secured substantial supply for next year. We are going to come to market with the H200 and also with the Blackwell architecture, and we are working very hard to… continuously meet the demand of the market."

The company points to its staggering financial results as proof that product is moving. Nvidia’s Data Center revenue for its last reported quarter was a record $18.4 billion, a 279% increase year-over-year, driven primarily by sales of the H100.

Industry analysts are somewhat divided on the semantics. "From a macroeconomic perspective, if demand vastly outstrips supply, you have a shortage by definition," said Ben Thompson, an independent tech analyst. "However, Nvidia's point is that their supply is not constrained by internal failures; it's constrained by the physical limits of how many of the world's most complex chips you can manufacture in a year. They are, by all accounts, producing them as fast as humanly possible."

The company took to its official channels to further reinforce this message, showcasing its ramp-up and commitment to meeting customer needs.

https://x.com/nvidianewsroom/status/1962912177410462080

The Road Ahead: Blackwell and Continued Competition

Looking forward, the question of supply is only becoming more critical. Nvidia has already announced its next-generation platform, the Blackwell architecture, featuring the B200 GPU. If the performance claims hold true, demand for these new chips will be even more intense, potentially putting further strain on the supply chain for the current H-series.

Nvidia’s denial of a shortage is likely also a strategic move to manage perceptions among its enterprise customers and shareholders. It projects an image of control and operational excellence, reassuring the market that it has a firm handle on the logistics of the AI boom.

Ultimately, whether termed a "shortage" or an "unprecedented demand cycle," the reality for most companies remains the same: acquiring a cluster of Nvidia’s flagship GPUs requires deep pockets, patience, and strategic relationships. While Nvidia may be supplying more GPUs than ever before, the world’s hunger for AI compute is growing faster still, ensuring that these chips will remain the most valuable commodity in tech for the foreseeable future.

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