On March 18, Eastern Time, $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ CEO Huang Renxun is expected to reveal details about the chip manufacturer's next-generation AI Graphics Processor, Rubin, at the company's annual GTC conference. The unveiling of this chip comes as technology stocks in the USA continue to decline, and the market is watching to see if the GTC conference can boost market sentiment as it has in the past.

NVIDIA's AI GPU is about to be tested in the market.

NVIDIA will name its next key AI Chip platform after the American astronomer Vera Rubin. Before releasing the new architecture, NVIDIA's CEO Huang Renxun typically introduces the scientist after whom the architecture is named.

Huang Renxun stated at last year's GTC conference: "I would like to introduce a super large GPU named after mathematician, game theorist, and statistician David Blackwell. We believe it is a perfect name."

Rubin is the name of NVIDIA's next-generation Chip, as the company tries to solidify its achievements as a leader in AI Hardware in recent years. "Vera" will refer to NVIDIA's next-generation Central Processing Unit, while "Rubin" will refer to NVIDIA's new GPU.

Currently, investors and Analysts are tracking the usage of NVIDIA's previously launched GPUs, "Hoppers," and large companies are boasting about being the first to use "Blackwell."

For NVIDIA, it is crucial to achieve the same level of recognition for Rubin as for Hoppers and Blackwell. Due to the enduring sales of Hopper Chips and strong early demand for Blackwell Chips, NVIDIA's sales in fiscal year 2025 (ending January) doubled year-on-year to 124.62 billion USD.

To maintain momentum, NVIDIA needs to launch a next-generation chip to demonstrate its cost-effectiveness, while improving speed, energy efficiency, and cost over the previous generation.

According to an investor report from last autumn, the company plans to launch the Vera Chip in 2026. In addition to Vera Rubin, NVIDIA is also expected to discuss Blackwell Ultra, an upgraded version of the Blackwell Chip, which analysts forecast will start sales later this year.

Next week's keynote will also be a test of NVIDIA's relatively new release cadence, as the company strives to release new chips each year. Investors are also keen to see if NVIDIA can continue to impress tech reviewers and developers while launching new chip lineups at a faster pace. Blackwell was released in March 2024, with its sales beginning to show in NVIDIA's October quarter.

Wall Street is concerned about waning excitement for GTC.

NVIDIA will host its annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC) 2025 for developers next week, from March 17 to 21 Eastern Time. NVIDIA stated that the event will feature over 1,000 sessions, 2,000 speakers, and nearly 400 exhibitors. Representatives from companies such as Waymo, OpenAI, NovoNordisk (NVO), Rivian (RIVN), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Boston Dynamics will speak at the event.

The event will have more than 25,000 on-site attendees and 300,000 online viewers, making it the largest AI conference of the year. The highlight will be CEO Jensen Huang's keynote on March 18, where he is expected to announce significant advancements in AI and computing. However, the key question is whether Huang can ease investors' nervousness.

Wall Street analysts, especially Ben Reitzes from Melius Research, are skeptical about the company's ability to alleviate investors' short-term concerns, which include potential negative impacts from U.S. trade policies and additional restrictions on sales in certain markets. This GTC is expected to take a broader view, focusing on opportunities in robotics, AI software, autonomous driving, climate research, and drug development.

Wells Fargo & Co Analyst Aaron Rakers predicts that this year's GTC conference will focus on five major technology themes, among which Co-Packaged Optical technology (CPO) is particularly attracting investor attention due to its disruptive applications in Datacenter network architecture. The conference will also delve into key technological breakthroughs such as Post-Training Optimization (PTO) and Test Time Extension (TTE), as well as the latest developments in NVLink technology. Following the launch of the fifth-generation product last year, NVIDIA is expected to showcase its sixth-generation high-speed interconnection solution, further enhancing multi-GPU collaborative computing efficiency.

In addition, NVIDIA will establish a Quantum Day forum for the first time at the GTC conference on March 20, which is seen as a significant turning point in its Global Strategy. Although Jensen Huang questioned the practicality of quantum computing within 15 to 30 years at the beginning of the year, leading to significant volatility in the stock prices of quantum computing companies like IonQ and Rigetti Computing, the hosting of this forum indicates that NVIDIA is reassessing the commercialization prospects of this technology.

Wells Fargo & Co Analyst points out that Historical Data shows that during the week of the GTC conference and the following two weeks, NVIDIA's stock performance significantly outperformed the PHLX Semiconductor Index by 7 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively, with average ROI reaching 6.4% and 4.5% during that period. However, in the current context where the AI Sector is facing valuation pressure and fluctuations in market sentiment, there remains uncertainty as to whether NVIDIA can continue this historical performance pattern due to the technological releases and strategic updates at this conference. Market observers will closely monitor its latest developments to assess whether they are sufficient to restore investor confidence and drive stock prices to outperform Large Cap again.

Editor/lambor