Huang Renxun claims that 500 billion is not enough to watch, the AI chip industry chain faces a major reshuffle

NVIDIA CFO unexpectedly raised the data center chip revenue outlook on January 7, stating that by the end of 2026, it will “definitely” surpass the previous $500 billion expectation. At the same time, Jensen Huang emphasized that the Rubin platform has been fully commercialized, inference costs have dropped significantly, and mentioned strong demand from Chinese customers. This statement not only refreshes market expectations for NVIDIA’s growth but more importantly reveals that profound structural changes are occurring in the AI industry chain.

Three Signals Behind the Upward Revision

Confirmation of Demand Surpassing Expectations

The statement from NVIDIA’s CFO essentially confirms a fact: global demand for AI computing power has far exceeded expectations. The $500 billion forecast was already high, and now being raised indicates that enterprises and cloud providers’ enthusiasm for high-end chips remains strong. This reflects the reality that generative AI is moving from concept to application, from small-scale pilots to large-scale deployment.

Significance of Rubin Platform Fully Commercialized

Huang Jianhua specifically emphasized that the Rubin platform has been fully put into production. This is not just a capacity issue but a sign that the AI chip industry has entered a new stage. The significant reduction in inference costs compared to previous generations means the economic viability of AI applications is improving, which will further boost downstream demand. More importantly, the launch of Rubin marks NVIDIA’s continued leadership in product iteration, creating new pressure for competitors.

Strong Demand from the Chinese Market

Huang Jianhua mentioned strong demand from Chinese customers, a detail worth noting. Considering the current trade environment and technological restrictions, the Chinese market remains an important growth engine for NVIDIA. This also hints that the development speed and investment in domestic AI industries are accelerating.

From General Rise to Structural Selection in the Industry Chain

Market Response Divergence

This divergence reflects an important phenomenon: not all companies involved in AI will benefit equally. It depends on their position within this new stage of the industry chain.

Pressure on Competitors

Related news shows AMD has just launched the Helios AI data center platform to directly compete with NVIDIA’s NVL system. However, based on NVIDIA’s upward revision and Rubin’s full production pace, AMD’s catch-up difficulty is increasing. NVIDIA not only leads in product performance but also expands advantages in ecosystem and cost control.

Structural Opportunities in China’s Chip Industry Chain

According to relevant information, retail investors in Korea have significantly withdrawn from the cryptocurrency market and shifted their investments to semiconductor companies like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, driven by their soaring performance in the AI wave. The same logic applies to the Chinese market.

Domestic institutional funds have already begun focusing on the semiconductor and chip industry chain. The underlying logic is that NVIDIA’s demand explosion will drive upgrades across the entire industry chain, especially in storage chips, data center infrastructure, and domestic substitution chips.

Key Directions to Watch

• Storage chip companies (HBM, DRAM, etc.)
• Data center infrastructure firms
• Domestic substitution in AI chips
• Upstream materials and equipment manufacturers

Future Outlook

In the short term, NVIDIA’s upward revision and Rubin platform’s commercialization will remain core catalysts for the AI theme. However, market investment logic is shifting from “all AI-related stocks go up” to “selective structural opportunities.” This raises the bar for investors’ stock-picking abilities—they need a deeper understanding of how each segment of the industry chain’s value is changing in this new phase.

In the medium to long term, as AI applications deepen and costs continue to optimize, the competitive landscape of the entire industry chain will become clearer. NVIDIA’s position as a chip designer is unlikely to be shaken in the short term, but whether other participants can seize this upgrade cycle depends on their ability to accurately grasp market demand changes.

Summary

NVIDIA’s upward revision is not only a confirmation of its own growth prospects but also a reevaluation of the overall AI industry chain’s health. The industry chain is shifting from a phase of broad growth to one of structural selection, meaning market participants need to move from “follow-the-leader” investing to “precise selection.” Segments like storage chips, domestic substitution, and data center infrastructure are emerging as new focal points, and companies deeply integrated into NVIDIA’s industry chain will attract more attention. For investors, the key is to understand the logic behind this differentiation rather than blindly chasing gains.