- Nvidia is evolving from a chip designer to a financier and partner in the AI economy.
- The company offers financing, rent-back agreements for idle GPUs, and revenue-sharing with cloud providers.
- This shift means Nvidia now has a financial stake in post-sale outcomes, not just hardware sales.
- Large-scale projects like Firmus and Sharon AI involve hundreds of thousands of GPUs under Nvidia-backed financing.
- Nvidia's CFO involvement signals this is a strategic move, not an isolated experiment.
- This model aligns with earlier deals with companies like CoreWeave and Lambda.
- Financing GPUs can generate longer-term revenue compared to one-time sales, diversifying Nvidia's income.
- Nvidia's new role may create conflicts as it supports smaller providers competing with its major customers like Amazon and Microsoft.
- If demand for AI infrastructure slows, Nvidia could face increased operational risk from financing and utilization guarantees.
- Analyzing Nvidia solely as a chip company is no longer sufficient due to its expanded business model.