Nvidia, the US-based chip maker, has made it clear that it is no longer interested in the cryptocurrency mining market. Despite selling powerful processors to the sector, the company’s chief technology officer, Michael Kagan, has stated that cryptocurrencies “do not bring anything useful for society” and that other uses of processing power, such as AI technology, are more worthwhile.
“All this crypto stuff, it needed parallel processing, and [Nvidia] is the best, so people just programmed it to use for this purpose. They bought a lot of stuff, and then eventually, it collapsed because it didn’t bring anything useful for society. AI does,” said Kagan.
“With ChatGPT, everybody can now create his own machine and program: you just tell it what to do, and it will. And if it doesn’t work how you want it to, you tell it ‘I want something different.’”
Nvidia has even released software to limit the use of its graphics cards for mining Ethereum to prioritize supply for its preferred customers, including AI researchers and gamers.
Nvidia has become a major player in the AI industry, with its processors being used to power the workloads of OpenAI, Amazon’s cloud computing service, and Oracle. The company’s DGX cloud service also offers access to its powerful chips, which start at almost $37,000 a month for just eight wired together in a “cluster.”
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, believes that the company is the driving force behind the “iPhone moment of AI” and that the generative AI technology it powers will revolutionize nearly every industry.
Nvidia’s shift away from crypto mining reflects the growing importance of AI technology and its potential to bring real benefits to society. While the cryptocurrency market may have its enthusiasts, Nvidia has recognized that its processing power has more important uses. With its focus now firmly on AI, Nvidia is well-positioned to continue driving innovation and shaping the future of technology.
