The AI hardware race is heating up, and NVIDIA is still far ahead. What will it take to close the gap?
In this episode, Dylan Patel (Founder & CEO, SemiAnalysis) joins Erin Price-Wright (General Partner, a16z), Guido Appenzeller (Partner, a16z), and host Erik Torenberg to break down the state of AI chips, data centers, and infrastructure strategy.
We discuss:
- Why simply copying NVIDIA won’t work, and what it takes to beat them
- How custom silicon from Google, Amazon, and Meta could reshape the market
- The economics of AI model launches and the shift toward cost efficiency
- Infrastructure bottlenecks: power, cooling, and the global supply chain
- The rise of AI silicon startups and the challenges they face
- Export controls, China’s AI ambitions, and geopolitics in the chip race
- Big tech’s next moves: advice for leaders like Jensen Huang, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk
