Nvidia reportedly planning annual subscription fee for GPU software in AI server farms

Nvidia has made billions from supplying the GPUs powering the AI boom, but hardware may only be one part of its long-term strategy. The company is increasingly focusing on software that runs on top of its chips, and CEO Jensen Huang has now discussed a potential annual licensing model that could create another major source of recurring revenue.

Speaking at GTC Berlin on October 22, Huang said software licensing is expected to become an increasingly important part of Nvidia’s business. As an example, he suggested a cost of around $2,000 per GPU per year for Nvidia software used to run AI agents inside what the company calls “AI factories,” essentially large data centers built to handle AI workloads.

A new expense for AI firms?

For companies operating thousands of Nvidia GPUs, that could quickly turn into a significant annual expense. A server farm with 10,000 licensed GPUs, for instance, would be looking at around $20…