Data centres put their money in new chip power as GenAI needs grow

Companies are ordering graphics processing units to handle the massive computing power needed for GenAI applications

There is one technology data centres need as the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes common: Graphics processing unit, or GPU, a specialised chip that renders graphics and images by performing rapid mathematical calculations that are needed in AI processing.

The scale of demand is evident in the results of chipmaker Nvidia. The firm’s data centre business reported a revenue of $18.4 billion in the fourth quarter ended on January 28. Revenue was up 27 per cent sequentially and grew 409 per cent year-on-year. Growth was fuelled by Nvidia’s H100 graphic cards or GPU.

Data centres’ demand for GPU-based servers is