Nvidia makes major move into "server CPUs," Jensen Huang: Vera CPU to be launched.

``` Nvidia is making major moves in the server CPU sector, further solidifying its dominance in the AI infrastructure market. Company CEO Jensen Huang has confirmed the launch of a new CPU codenamed "Vera", which will be offered as a standalone product for the first time. The goal is to eliminate computing power bottlenecks in the AI supply chain and fully support the development of Agentic AI. On January 26, according to Bloomberg, Nvidia has pledged an additional $2 billion investment in emerging cloud service provider CoreWeave. CoreWeave will become the first customer to deploy the Vera CPU as an independent infrastructure option. In an interview with Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow, Jensen Huang stated that Vera is a "revolutionary" CPU. Analysts say that this collaboration not only continues the long-term relationship between the two parties but also marks a significant strategic shift for Nvidia at the computing stack level. The report says Nvidia's move is aimed at solving the problem that server CPUs have become the main bottleneck in the AI supply chain. By providing standalone Vera CPUs, Nvidia offers customers a more cost-effective high-end computing alternative. This allows workloads to run not only on Nvidia GPUs but also on Nvidia CPUs, which will directly impact the current server processor market landscape. With the exposure of Vera CPU technical details and production plans progressing, Nvidia is showing ambition for the "post-Blackwell era." The strategy is not only targeting high-end rack-level solutions, but also starting to penetrate the broader general-purpose computing market, seeking to build a fully stacked computing ecosystem. Deepening Cooperation with CoreWeave, Launching Standalone CPU Products In this strategic deployment, CoreWeave plays a key role. As an important partner of Nvidia, CoreWeave is ambitiously planning to build a 5 GW AI factory by 2030. According to official disclosures, Nvidia will purchase CoreWeave's Class A common stock at $87.20 per share. This investment, as high as $2 billion, will directly support CoreWeave's infrastructure expansion. Jensen Huang revealed that CoreWeave will have to "race" to be the first customer to deploy the Vera CPU. Unlike previous sales strategies that usually offered CPUs as part of a superchip or rack system, Nvidia will clearly provide the Vera CPU as a "standalone component" of infrastructure this time. This means customers will have greater flexibility in building their computing stack without being forced to purchase an entire rack-level solution. Huang hinted that although no other CPU design wins have been officially announced yet, more customers will join in the future. Vera Architecture Analysis: Code Name "Olympus" Performance Leap From a technical standpoint, the Vera CPU represents a massive leap in Nvidia’s processor design. The processor is based on a next-generation custom Arm architecture, codenamed "Olympus," and is intended to handle the most demanding AI and compute workloads. Data shows that the Vera CPU is equipped with 88 cores and 176 threads, and introduces Nvidia’s so-called "Spatial Multi-Threading" technology. In terms of memory performance, Vera is equipped with 1.5 TB of system memory, three times that of the previous generation Grace CPU. It uses SOCAMM LPDDR5X technology to achieve a memory bandwidth of 1.2 TB/s. In addition, thanks to the NVLink-C2C interconnect technology, its coherent memory interconnect speed reaches 1.8 TB/s, twice that of Grace. Compared to the Grace CPU, Vera has also made major upgrades to cache design: each core has 2MB of L2 cache (double that of Grace), and a shared L3 cache of 162MB, up by 42%. This enables Vera to share data with paired GPUs more quickly, significantly improving overall system efficiency. Nvidia states that Vera will be one of its most powerful CPU products yet, with leading advantages in rack-level confidential computing. It is worth noting that the Vera CPU does not exist in isolation—it is the core component of Nvidia’s next-generation Vera-Rubin platform. Dion Harris, Nvidia’s Senior Director of High-Performance Computing and AI Factory Solutions, revealed that the central chips for the Vera-Rubin NVL72 platform have returned from TSMC and are currently being debugged and sent to key partners, with mass production expected to start in the second half of 2026. This platform combines the Vera CPU with the next-generation GPU code-named "Rubin". The Rubin GPU is expected to use HBM4 memory, with bandwidth up to 22 TB/s, which is 2.75 times that of the Blackwell GPU. Breaking Supply Chain Bottlenecks to Meet Market Demand Reports indicate that the push for standalone CPUs by Nvidia is backed by deep insights into AI supply chain bottlenecks. As Agentic AI applications are rapidly adopted, server CPUs are gradually becoming the key factor limiting overall system performance. Nvidia realizes that relying solely on increasing GPU computing power can no longer meet market demand—a performance-matched CPU platform is essential. Analysis points out that by offering a standalone Vera CPU, Nvidia can not only provide customers with a workaround for traditional x86 architecture bottlenecks, but also attract customers who want high-end CPU capabilities but have limited budgets with more affordable alternatives. In addition to CoreWeave, the list of early customers for Nvidia's Vera-Rubin systems includes cloud giants such as Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, as well as emerging players like Lambda, Nebius, and Nscale. Analysts point out that although some cloud service providers are developing their own accelerators, Nvidia is making heavy investments in the server CPU ecosystem, in an attempt to maintain its unshakable core position in the coming era of next-gen AI infrastructure competition. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market carries risks, and investment should be undertaken carefully. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any individual user. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Any investment made based on this is at your own risk. ```