Nvidia’s ascension last week as the world’s most valuable company proved to be short-lived.
That said, their meteoric growth over the last year is absolutely unprecedented. Thanks to the generative artificial intelligence boom, NVIDIA’s stock price rose 239% in 2023 and another 18% in the first quarter of 2024. Most analysts forecast that this amazing cycle of growth will not crest anytime soon as AI becomes an even more prevalent feature in our day-to-day lives.
Will other high-end chip manufacturing companies be able to enjoy similar windfalls? For context on this question, we recommend watching / listening to three compelling sessions from this year’s SXSW Conference.
AMD’s stock jumped an impressive 128% in 2023 reaching an all-time high of $227.30 in early spring. At SXSW 2024, CEO Lisa Su talked about the next generation chips her company is making to serve our AI future in a fascinating keynote conversation with Ryan Patel. Watch the full session from their March SX appearance.
Understand more about how AI is quickly changing the strategies of top chip-making companies (and the venture firms that invest in them) by listening to the audio of Investing in the Future of AI Infrastructure. This session features the expertise of Eleanor Haglund (Nvidia), Saanya Ojha (Bain Capital Ventures), Ishani Thakur (Index Ventures), and JD Weinstein (Oracle).
Finally, Leveraging the CHIPS for America Opportunity: A Texas Update addresses how the recently-passed CHIPS and Science Act brings ambitious goals to remake U.S. manufacturing capabilities in the semiconductor space. This panel includes the perspectives of Mayor Brandt Rydell of Taylor, Texas, the small community just outside of Austin where a new $17 billion Samsung chip factory will open shortly.
How long do you think Nvidia’s dominance of the chip industry will last? What other players will emerge in this space over the next few years. How does the need for more sophisticated chips that will power our rapidly-multiplying AI platforms play into the complex 21st century geo-political narrative?
If you have opinions on any of these questions — or any of the other issues and challenges facing modern societies — we encourage you to work your ideas into a formal speaking proposal for SXSW 2025. SXSW PanelPicker® is now open and accepting speaking proposals for next year’s event through the end of the day on Sunday, July 21. Attend one of our PanelPicker Office Hours this July to receive guidance from SXSW staffers on how to craft your speaking proposal for the greatest chance of success in this very competitive process.
We gotta look at things from every angle,
Hugh Forrest