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Dell to Ship Servers With New Nvidia Blackwell AI Chips Next Month

(Bloomberg) -- Dell Technologies Inc., one of the biggest sellers of server computers, will soon begin shipping devices featuring Nvidia Corp.’s Blackwell artificial intelligence accelerators, demonstrating that production of the chip is back on schedule.

AI-oriented servers containing Blackwell chips will be sent to select customers next month and be generally available at the beginning of 2025, Arthur Lewis, Dell infrastructure unit president, said in an interview.

The rollout of Nvidia’s latest generation of advanced semiconductors favored for AI has been closely watched by the industry and investors. Earlier this year, the initiative was delayed by engineering snags. In August, Nvidia Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said the company had made a change to improve production yields of the Blackwell chips and the pace of manufacturing was expected to ramp up beginning in November.

Dell is focused on expanding its business selling high-powered servers for AI work. On Tuesday, the Round Rock, Texas-based company unveiled a new line of servers and other infrastructure products. 

Investors have been excited by this new spigot of growth for a company known for its personal computers. Dell stock gained 68% this year through Tuesday’s close and joined the S&P 500 Index last month. Still, some analysts have expressed concerns about the profitability of Dell’s AI-oriented products and competitive positioning against rivals like Super Micro Computer Inc.

Dell is differentiated by its existing relationships with customers and wide array of services and products, Lewis said. This is why the company gets early access to Nvidia’s chips, he added.

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang wants his company’s chips to be put into use “as soon as humanely possible,” Lewis said. “You win the customer, you win the allocation.” 

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