By Adria Cimino
Publication Date: 2026-04-21 10:10:00
Nvidia (NVDA +0.19%) has long been the artificial intelligence (AI) chip leader. The company recognized the potential of its graphics processing units (GPUs) to power this technology before most people were even talking about AI — and at that time, Nvidia made AI its focus.
This turned out very well for Nvidia, as the company has continued innovating and remained well ahead of competitors. And major rivals aren’t lightweights. They are tech powerhouses such as Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom, as well as certain Nvidia customers that are making some of their own chips — such as Amazon.
But the rivals I’ll talk about here aren’t these technology giants. Instead, they are younger, up-and-coming players focused specifically on making AI more efficient. They are names that aren’t yet publicly traded — from Cerebras to European players Euclyd and Optalysys. And now these rivals have just made key moves. Should Nvidia shareholders worry? Let’s find out.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia’s work in AI
So, first, a quick note about Nvidia’s work in the AI market so far. The company, as mentioned, is the leader, selling GPUs that power crucial AI tasks such as the training of models, and increasingly today, the inference process — this is the model’s “thinking” steps that help it make decisions and take action.
Nvidia’s chips, along with its complete suite of AI products and services, have delivered explosive growth over the past few years. In the latest full year, Nvidia…
