NAIROBI, Kenya- AI chip giant Nvidia has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence platform, Vera Rubin, as the world’s most valuable company moves to defend its dominance in the fast-evolving AI hardware market.
The California-based firm announced the new platform on Monday, January 5, during the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote once again emerged as one of the most anticipated events at the global tech showcase.
What Nvidia’s New ‘Vera Rubin’ Platform Brings
First revealed in September, the Vera Rubin platform represents Nvidia’s next major leap in AI architecture, succeeding the Blackwell generation that launched in late 2024.
According to Nvidia, the Rubin-based systems will be five times more energy-efficient than previous platforms—an increasingly critical factor as AI-driven data centres consume growing amounts of power worldwide.
The platform is built around a modular design, with six interconnected chips forming a single AI supercomputer, aimed at supporting the most advanced AI models while lowering the overall cost of computing intelligence.
“These will meet the needs of the most advanced models and drive down the cost of intelligence,” said Dion Harris, Nvidia’s Director of Data Centre and High-Performance Computing.
Nvidia said products based on the Rubin architecture will become available through partners in the second half of 2026.
Rising Pressure From Rivals and Big Tech Clients
Despite its dominance—estimated at around 80pc of the global AI data centre chip market—Nvidia is facing increasing competition from multiple fronts.
Traditional rivals AMD and Intel are intensifying efforts to challenge Nvidia’s grip on AI hardware, while major customers including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are developing their own in-house chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia.
Notably, Google’s Gemini 3 AI model was trained without using Nvidia’s technology, signalling a growing shift among hyperscalers.
At the same time, China is accelerating efforts to build domestic alternatives to Nvidia products amid ongoing US export restrictions that have limited access to advanced AI chips.
An Unrelenting Pace in the AI Arms Race
Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia has updated its AI platforms at a rapid pace, reshaping the global technology landscape.
However, the speed of these advancements has also raised concerns over whether AI developers can afford to continuously upgrade their infrastructure to stay competitive.
Still, with the Vera Rubin platform, Nvidia is signalling that it intends to remain at the centre of the AI revolution—despite intensifying competition and geopolitical headwinds.
